Pirates of the Caribbean: The Robin's Flight
by riseagainsttboi
Summary: For Robert Jacob Kraven, or Robin, life on land is a total bore - especially when you're the son of both Emelia Kraven and Jack Sparrow. This story chronicles Robin's journey as he searches for treasure and for the father who doesn't know he exists.
1. Just Like Jack

_"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest  
Yo ho, ho and a bottle of rum  
Take what's yours and steal all the rest!_

"_Yo ho, ho and a bottle of rum_," Robin Kraven sang gaily as he floated idly in his little dinghy sailing boat. His bronze skin glistened with sweat, but the large white sail above him provided shade from the worst of the hot afternoon sun. The cool blue water lapped the sides of his boat as he unwillingly sailed back towards Bridgetown's harbor. Robin leaned back and put his calloused hands behind his head. His fingers ran through the mop of short yet unruly raven black hair. No matter what he did to it, his hair could never be tamed, just like his own personality. No one could tell by looking at him that he had just turned thirteen years old because he still had not gone through puberty yet. Robin still had most of his baby fat, a source of many jokes from those close to him. However, he was quite stronger than most boys his age and even some older than him, a fact he was proud of.

Robin closed his dark brown eyes and sighed happily as he began to imagine a full life at sea instead of the one he now led on land. Unlike his mother, who had quickly readapted to life as a citizen of the land instead of sea when she came back to the island of Barbados, Robin had never liked being tied down to the rigid rules of society. He would rather live a free life as a sailor or maybe even a pirate just like his father and his mother before she retired from that life.

After a time, a high-pitched yell alerted Robin back to reality just as he was about to find the treasure in his daydream. He snapped his eyes open and sat up and looked around. His boat was just entering the harbor. Someone called out his name from the far end of the docks where a low stone bridge was located. Robin shaded his eyes and craned his neck. When he recognized the tall, dark figure jumping frantically on their feet from next to a loading dock, Robin grinned and waved to him.

Zanka Coffei stopped jumping and watched his friend berth his boat right in front of him with chocolate brown eyes. "Hey bradda, how were da fishes?" Zanka greeted in his thick Jamaican accent.

Several years ago, Zanka's family migrated from Port Royal to Bridgetown, Barbados while trying to escape a pirate raid. His mother and father currently work for Robin's mother Emelia Kraven by helping to run their family-owned inn his mother had started called The Raven Nest Inn. Zanka and his three much younger brothers worked on a sugar cane plantation near the inn.

Even though Robin had a few misgivings when he first met this tall, wiry seventeen year old who reminded him just like a mischievous monkey, he and Zanka slowly became inseparable because of their love of getting into trouble, often times together and often times because of a half-baked, get-rich-quick scheme Zanka made up.

When Robin stepped onto the gangplank, he immediately noticed how roughed up his friend looked. Zanka's cotton clothes were askew and his short dreadlocks seem to almost be standing on end. "Zanka, what happened to you?" Robin demanded in concern.

Zanka just waved it off carelessly although he slightly winced when he tried to move his right arm. "It's nuthin' mon, but," Zanka poke a long finger on his friend's chest, "you gotta worry about yuhself!" When he saw the look of confusion on Robin's face, Zanka rolled his eyes and smacked him upside the head. "I'm like dis cuz One-Eyed Richard's goons came lookin' for you and happened to find me first!" he snapped angrily. He began waving his finger under Robin's nose. "Look mon, I may have given you da hook-up to get yuh pretty little boat right there behind you, but One-Eyed wants his payment at da end of da week!" he snapped.

Robin bit his lip, an action that reflected his nervousness. One-Eyed Richard happened to be a rather bad-tempered Jamaican dealer that Zanka had convinced to give Robin his dinghy if Robin were to give him sixty-five shillings in payment. That had been a month ago and Robin had yet given him a single shilling. He gave his boat a good look. It hadn't been much when he first received it, but Robin had spent days after trying to fix it up. He had always wanted a boat, a ship maybe, and so he was proud of his little dinghy.

He ran a hand through his hair, but when his fingers got caught in a knot, he sighed with frustration. He heard the stories the fishermen and sailors that stayed at The Raven Nest Inn and from Zanka himself of some of the horrible things One-Eyed Richard has done to people who couldn't pay him back. Robin shuddered before turning to Zanka.

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to raise sixty-five shilling in _three days_?" he demanded angrily.

Zanka grew silent for a moment as he chewed the bottom of his pink lips thoughtfully before an idea struck him like lightning. "I gotta brilliant idea!" he yelled excitedly before he motioned for his friend to follow him.

Giving his boat one last look, Robin reluctantly followed Zanka.

"Where are we going?" Robin asked as Zanka led them out of the docks and into town. They stopped behind a cart full of fruit and Zanka turned to him with a familiar glint in his eyes which Robin recognized right away. "Oh no, what crazy scheme are you thinking now?" he demanded.

Zanka grinned widely, revealing his uncommonly straight white teeth. "We're gonna get you yuh money, mon," he said with a snicker.

Before Robin could ask how, Zanka had left the cart. Robin stuck his head out and watched as Zanka crept behind a lady and quickly picked her money bag. Robin watched with his mouth slightly opened as Zanka quickly walked back to him and flashed the two shillings between his grimy fingers. "See? Easy as pie," Zanka said. He saw the skeptical look his friend gave him and grew irritated. "Do you know a bettah way to get yuh money?" he demanded.

"Are you mad? What if we get caught?" Robin demanded irately. "My mother will kill me for sure!"

Zanka rolled his eyes. He reached into his pants from the top and extracted a brown hardboiled egg. Robin recognized it as his friend's lucky egg that he had brought with him from Jamaica. Zanka stuck the egg in front of Robin's face. "Kiss me egg for luck!" he ordered.

Robin eyed the egg skeptically. Ever since Zanka told him the story of the gypsy who gave him the egg, he had always been skeptic about it. However, past experiences of personally seeing Zanka and his egg in action had proved him otherwise. Still, Robin was not about to kiss an egg that came from inside Zanka's pants.

"No way, Zanka. Take that egg away from me," Robin said in disgust at the thought.

Zanka shrugged his shoulders, kissed his egg soundlessly, and put it back in his pants. "Suit yuhself, then," he said airily. He rubbed his hands. "Now let's get crackin'!"

Despite his better judgment, Robin sighed in defeat and nodded his head. Then in a change of heart, a sly grin lit up his face handsomely. "I bet I can collect more coins than you," he challenged.

Zanka laughed. "Good one, bradda, but let a _mastuh_ handle this," Zanka said as he pocketed the money in his pants.

Robin grinned. "Want to fight for that title?" he challenged. Zanka nodded energetically and they shook hands on it.

"Whoever gets caught first is a wet dog!" Zanka said quickly before he rushed off.

Robin blinked, thinking, _He cheated!_ before he too set off. Even though Robin had a bad feeling about all of this, he couldn't help but love the thrill and anxiety the possibility of getting caught brought him. After the thirteenth shilling, Robin and Zanka met up in the main town square to show off their riches.

"Hah! Beat yuh, buddy!" Zanka snickered as he showed off fifteen shillings and a silver pocket watch he happened to have pickpocket off an old middle-class man. He dumped all the coins they collected into his pockets and twirled the pocket watch by the silver chain attached to it in front of Robin's face teasingly. "I'm still da mastuh!" he crowed.

Robin pushed the watch a trifle irritably. Between them they had nineteen shillings, and he needed sixty-five. "C'mon Zanka, the day isn't over yet," he said as he began to walk towards a nearby alleyway. When he noticed that his friend wasn't following him, Robin spun around and saw what made Zanka frozen in his feet. On the other side of the square, a troop of local police had entered with whistles blaring.

Zanka suddenly appeared before Robin. The coins rattled noisily in his pockets. Zanka immediately handed him the watch. "Uh, see ya mon!" Zanka cried just as a voice called, "Look! There he is!" In a second flat, Zanka had disappeared into the alleyway leaving Robin still standing there with the silver pocket watch still in his hand.

"Stop, thief!"

Robin's eyes widened in horror and he took off another alleyway. _Oh man, I can't get in trouble again! Mother will murder me! _Robin thought desperately as he dodged numerous people and jumped over many items in his attempt to get away from the police running after him. Just thinking of what his mother would do to him drove him to run faster. Up ahead, Robin saw to the left were cages of live chickens. As he passed them, he kicked down the stand they were on and heard as they cages fell on the ground.

"Aaagh!" The officers yelled as chicken feathers and their owners flew in their faces, obscuring their vision momentarily.

Robin chanced a look over his shoulder and laughed out loud at the funny sight of the officers tripping over escaping chickens. Robin turned his head back towards his front, thinking himself safe, but suddenly, he crashed into a cart full of wine bottles. Robin fell on the ground and groaned in pain before wine poured all over him. He now wished that he had kissed Zanka's lucky egg.

_I'm in for it._

* * *

Emelia Kraven sighed as she sat down heavily at an empty round table, one of the many in the inn's main room on the first floor. Crossing her legs underneath the simple cotton dress she wore, she softly blew a strand of her raven black hair away from her tired dark brown eyes, the same assets she had given graciously to her son. Em was still a beautiful woman, but life on land and raising a child by herself had taken a toll on her body and so she no longer really felt as energetic and young as she had been thirteen years ago before she came back to Bridgetown. Em looked outside and saw the setting sun from behind window glasses.

"Where is that boy?" she softly murmured as she pushed back her hair behind her left ear. Three golden rings that ran along the ridge of Em's ear sparkled from the chandelier lights hanging above her. One could see up close that there was a missing ring at the very top of her ear, and one could find that ring on the top of her son's right ear. Em turned to the swinging wooden doors that led into the kitchen. "Mrs. Coffei?" she called.

"Ay, Ms. Kraven?" Out from the kitchen, a short and plump woman wearing dirty apron over a colorful dress stepped into the main room. Her chocolate brown eyes looked at her employer curiously. "What is it you be wanting?" she asked warmly. When she and her family had migrated here from Port Royal, they had immediately been received enthusiastically by Emelia Kraven, who had just started a business as an innkeeper and needed help running her inn. In return for Mrs. Coffei helping with being hostess and her husband as the chef, the whole family was allowed to live in the inn while Em and her son Robin lived in their own house that was situated on one of the low hills that overlooked Bridgetown.

Em tilted her head slightly. "Do you know where Robin could be?" she inquired. "He's been doing this all the time for the past month," she muttered to herself, not noticing that Mrs. Coffei had come and sat down next to her until the woman's soft, warm hand wrapped itself around her strong, pale hand. Em looked up and saw the half-hearted smile Mrs. Coffei gave her.

"Don't worry a thing, child," she told Em reassuringly. "I still remembah when me Zanka went through dis phase. Robin be a smart boy. He'll grow outta it like Zanka," she said wisely.

_But Zanka_ never _grew out of it_, Em thought vaguely but she nodded instead.

Suddenly, they jumped at the familiarly harsh banging on the front door. Em groaned. _Oh lord, please don't let it be Robin_, she thought as she got to her feet and swiftly walked towards the door. Em cringed when she opened it to reveal her son, head bent in shame. On either side of him were two familiar local police officers.

"Ms. Kraven," they both greeted her gruffly.

Em tried to smile and failed as she moved away from the door to let them in. "What did he do this time?" she sighed as she closed to door and leaned her back on it. She crossed her arms and gave her son a dark look when he dared to look up. 'You're in for it,' the look said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mrs. Zanka prudently get up and retreat to the kitchen.

The officer on Robin's left side cleared his throat. "Your son has been caught pilfering citizen's money right from their bags, and we even found him holding this-" The officer nodded to the one on Robin's right and he held up a silver pocket watch.

"This was taken from one of our town's most upstanding citizens, Ms. Kraven," the officer on the right informed her sternly while glaring down at the silent boy next to him. "Now, he won't press any charges, but this is our _last_ warning for your son! One more indiscretion and he will be jailed," he said threateningly.

Em looked at the two officers with a blank face. "And his fine this time?" she inquired politely.

Left Side sniffed. "The total goes up to twenty shillings," he said.

Robin's eyes widened. "_What?_" he yelled. "That's a shilling more than what we, I mean,_ I _took!" Although it had been Zanka's idea to steal the money for One-Eyed Richard, Robin couldn't find it in his heart to rat out his friend. He knew too well that because of Zanka's skin color, punishment will be harsher for him than just a fine. Even though right now Robin would like nothing better than to throttle Zanka by his long neck, Robin still owed Zanka some loyalty such as this.

Em gave him a black look that immediately silenced him. "You are lucky it is _only_ twenty shillings coming from them; from me it will be worse." She turned her head to the officers. "And I assure you, it _will_ be worse," she told them.

The officers nodded at the innkeeper, confident that she would because of her quiet reputation for being a fair yet harsh person, whether as a businesswoman or a mother. They waited as Em pushed off from the door, reached into a front pocket and paid them the twenty shillings. They tipped their tricorn hats to her before they left the mother and her son standing alone by themselves in the room.

"Sit down," Em ordered as she closed the door tightly behind her.

Robin stayed where he was. "I prefer to stand," he muttered rebelliously, an attempt to be brave in the face of his mother's growing temper. However, he paled slightly when Em turned back to him with that same dark look on her face.

"_Robert Jacob Kraven_"-Robin flinched-"I didn't raise you to become a thief," she told him harshly. "I raised you to become the best you can be, and becoming a thief is not one of the best!" Her voice grew louder and angrier. "Why are you _doing_ this to me? You know that we don't have the money to spare for your little adventures!"

"I know, mother," Robin answered feebly. Shame and guilt filled him.

He had always known that money was low right now because of the hurricane season the island of Barbados had suffered through last year. While most businesses had recovered, theirs had lagged in their recovery. Many of their sea-faring customers hadn't come back. While the inn was theirs, the land it was on didn't belong to them. Every month, they had to pay the landowner for renting the land or he would evict them and take the inn as payment. Several times within this year, the landowner had suggested on the sly that this whole land matter could be avoided if Emelia Kraven were to only marry him, but each time, Em would pay the man the rent before throwing him out of her inn. But now, it was getting harder and harder to pay the rent. Soon, Robin might even have to get a job or an apprenticeship to raise more money.

"I'm sorry. I promise I won't-"

Em cut him off by laughing dryly. "Won't what, Robin? Won't get in trouble again? Of course you can't get into trouble again, or else you'll get throw in jail, or worse!" Em moved closer to her son and grabbed him, but not harshly, by the shoulders. She looked down at the boy who reminded her so much of his father. Her facial features softened. "You are so much like your father than you know, my darling. I can't stay mad at you for long, just like with him," she said softly.

Robin heard the ache of sorrow in his mother's voice and gave her a small hug. He felt her wrap her arms around his body, which was as tall as she, and hold him tighter to her.

After a while, Em pulled away slightly and took the small charm that hung on the thin gold chain around his neck. It was the same necklace she had given to Jack Sparrow, his father; the same one Jack had given to her when they had seen each other for the last time; the very same one that she had given to her son when he was old enough to learn about who his parents really were. She smiled softly down at the little charm in the shape of a soaring bird with a tiny silver bell hanging from its beak. She looked at her son. "Don't ever lose this," she told him as she let go of the charm. "It's our family heirloom," she added with a smirk.

Robin gave her an identical smirk. "Of course not, mum," he replied.

"Don't think you're safe," Em suddenly turned stern. She waved a finger in front of his face. "For the next month, you're going to come directly to this inn every day after school and help Mrs. Coffei with the customers," she told him.

As if she had been summoned, Mrs. Coffei appeared behind Em. "Robin, do you know where me boy be?" she asked him.

At that moment, the swinging doors that led to the kitchen burst open and Zanka stepped through holding a tray of food. He was covered from head to toe with flour as if he had been wrestling in it. "Order up!" he said happily and smiled innocently.

Robin's jaw dropped. You have _got_ to be kidding me, he thought disbelievingly before his mother and Mrs. Coffei shouted, "You're making a mess on the floor!"


	2. Lessons from a Pirate

That night, Em prepared a late dinner for her and Robin in their home situated on one of the low hills overlooking the town. They lived in a two-story home which was not very large but still big enough so they didn't feel cramped. Yet to both Em and Robin, from time to time, their home felt a little lonely because of the distinct absence of a father and husband.

When Em stepped into the small dining room adjacent to the kitchen, she was surprised to not see her son already at the table stuffing his face like he usually does. With growing concern, Em left the dining room. She traversed the parlor at the front of the house and took the crooked stair case pressed against the side of the main hallway to the second floor. Near the end of the hallway on the right side, Robin's bedroom door was wide open. When Em stopped just inside his door frame, she found her son sitting silently on his windowsill with the window itself wide open. Since Robin's window had the best view of the ocean and the town below, his windowsill was his favorite spot in their home. The pale moonlight streaming from the window shined down on the upset-looking boy who was just on the brink of manhood. The weak light illuminated his heavy dark brown eyes and the cutlass he held carefully in his calloused hands.

For years, Robin had begged his mother to teach him how to sword fight ever since he was six. That was the year Em had been forced to take down a drunken pirate that had stayed at her inn and had tried to stir up some trouble with a sailor who had also been staying. The year before, Em had thought Robin was old enough to know that he came from a family of pirates and so had pirate blood running thickly through his veins. So Robin began to pester and beg his mother to teach him how to fight with a sword in order to what he thought was his duty to live up to his parents' legacies. Em had resisted at first, knowing he wasn't mature enough to handle the knowledge of the sword, but on Robin's tenth birthday, Em decided to train him.

The cutlass Robin now held was Tobias Kraven's old cutlass. Tobias was Em's late brother who had been killed in a fatal ambush by the British East India Trade Company. Em had had it re-forged and shined just for her son's tenth birthday, in which she had presented it to him as his present.

Em smiled at the happy memory as she lifted her hand and knocked on the door frame.

Robin sharply turned his head at the noise and saw the reflection of his melancholy eyes peering back at him from the doorway. Robin couldn't bear to see the smile on his mother's face and averted his eyes. He nodded his head timidly, which Em took as a signal to step inside his room.

"Dinner's ready," she told him gently.

Robin turned his head back to the open window. "I'm not that hungry right now, thanks," he mumbled. "You can start without me."

Em shook her head sadly as she walked up to her son who had returned to stargazing. It was a clear and starless night tonight. Instead of placing her hand on his shoulder or offering words of comfort as other mothers would have done, Em took his cutlass from his hands and began to examine it with her experienced eyes.

Robin fully turned his body away from the window when his ears began to pick up the familiar sounds only a singing blade could make. He watched with admiration and a hint of envy as his mother began to skillfully swing his weapon around his room with the footwork and stances she had been trying to teach him for the last three years. And she was doing it with her eyes peacefully closed, too. Em practiced parrying with an imaginary foe for a while until her eyes snapped open and she spun on her toes to face Robin. She threw his cutlass in the air, spun a whole circle under it, and then as she came to a stop in front of him once more, she deftly caught the plain hilt. Em tossed her son his weapon, which he caught just as skillfully. Em glowed with pride in herself and her son.

"Well, I'll see you soon then," she told him mysteriously before she left Robin's room with the boy looking at her retreating figure with confusion written all over his face.

Em walked down the hallway to the other side of the second floor where her lonely bedroom was located. She entered her bedroom, the master bedroom, and quietly closed the door behind her. Her reflection in her nightstand mirror looked back at her. Em wrinkled her nose at the more mature, tired-looking woman staring disgustedly back at her wearing a plain worn-out dress. The woman in the mirror gripped the ankle-length skirt with her worn hands and shook it as if it were that simple to just rip it off her body. Em may had regained her figure after giving birth to Robin, but time had slightly aged her and life on land along with being a mother had humbled her to some extent. Her straight raven black hair was still long. It was now a little past her bottom and it seemed not in a hurry to grow any longer. Em was still good-looking and could still draw stares from the men in town, but she had this worn-out look about her as if she were too tired of living on land; and she was. Although she was not able to admit it for her son's sake, Em missed the ocean and the lull of the waves on a ship.

Dismissing the woman whose body didn't even reflect how lively her spirit still felt, Em traversed the large room towards the king-sized bed against the wall. Above the headboard, her cutlass hung on the wall, always ready for anything. Em stopped at the foot of her bed, right in front of a narrow wooden chest. Taking the small copper key that had taken the place of the necklace her son now wore around his neck, Em got on her knees and unlocked the chest. She opened it and her almond-shaped eyes took in the familiar old possessions she had salvaged. With trembling hands, for she had kept this chest locked for nearly thirteen years, Em slowly looked through her old pirating clothes and objects that she had kept since her golden years ended, fourteen years ago.

* * *

Robin jumped in surprised and nearly fell out of the window when he heard his name being called from downstairs. Wondering why his mother would be calling him down for dinner this late at night, being nearly midnight as it was, Robin left his cutlass on his bed and went downstairs.

Yet his mother wasn't waiting for him in the dining room. He found her standing in front of the parlor room's wide open bay windows. When Robin took a good look of what she was wearing, he froze in the doorway, stunned. It was as if he were looking into the past.

Em wore the same clothes that she had countlessly described to him in stories of her pirating days. Although Em seemed to fill out her clothes better than fourteen years ago, she still looked as fierce and proud with her cutlass strapped to her wide leather belt hanging loosely on top of her long dark trousers that covered her knee-length boots. Unlike other pirate women at the time, she wore a leather corset with designs in red thread along the edges over a white cotton shirt. Red and black ribbons crossed the front of the corset. A gust of wind blew from the open windows and tossed Em's long hair about, making her earrings noticeable for a moment before they disappeared amongst the tendrils of her hair.

Robin took note of how much younger his mother looked in these clothes. This was the first time he's seen her like this. He wondered what occasion it was that made his mother feel that she had to now show this side of her to him.

Em Kraven cocked an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips, her trademark look. She was smirking at her son, who looked like he was seeing a wonderful ghost. "Well are you just going to stand there and gawk? Go get your cutlass, boy," Em ordered him.

They left the house and walked down to the town towards the beach. Because they took the streets not filled with drunkards or prostitutes, it was a silent stroll through Bridgetown. However, it was not a _comfortable_ silence. Em glanced at her son from time to time, slightly disturbed by his brooding silence even though he had appeared very excited when he came downstairs the second time with his sword in hand. While she walked tall and gracefully, Robin's figure was slouched with his head looking down at his feet as he slinked through the town beside him mother.

Em placed her arm around Robin's shoulders and pulled him closer to her. When he looked up at her quizzically, she gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't feel guilty about what happened this afternoon, Robin," she told him as if she knew what was on his mind. "I'm not mad at you because of the twenty shillings anymore. We're fine with the money. I was just overreacting for the moment."

Robin shook his head, both disagreeing with his mother and it also was in a sad gesture because Em only knew a small part of what was running through his chaotic mind; and that was the money they had, or don't have. Robin was also thinking about how he still didn't have sixty-five shillings to give to One-Eyed Richard. He was very worried deep inside. A most practical thing would be to ask his mother to help him, but this was his mistake. He wanted to prove to himself and anyone who thought he was just a trouble-causing kid that he didn't need anyone to take care of him. He wanted to prove that he could fix his own mistakes like any grown man could; like his father could.

Then thoughts of his father swam into his mind just as he and his mother entered the merchant district that surrounded the outside of the town closest to the ocean shore. Robin didn't actually know how his father looked like except for the countless descriptions of him that he always made his mother tell him. This made Robin's heart ache a little with sadness, but if he felt this way about a father who was actually more like a stranger to him, he couldn't imagine what Em Kraven felt every day about losing the only man she loved and also have the child he didn't even know he had.

Just as Robin and Em stepped off the cobblestone road and onto dry sand, the son caught his mother's hand and made her stop and face him. "I'm sorry, mum," Robin apologized with utmost sincerity. "I'm sorry I'm not the perfect son you want me to be and that I always cause so much trouble for you-"

"Robin, Robin!" Em cried. She blinked back the tears gathering in her eyes like a storm. She pulled her child into her arms and let a few tears fall. Then she pulled away far enough to look down on Robin's wet face. "Darling, I don't want you to be perfect. I always want to be yourself," she told him. "Always be the best you can be and never someone you are not." Em sighed as she lifted a hand and pushed his unruly hair out of his eyes. "And as for always causing so much trouble," she added with a small laugh. "Like I've said before, you're just like your father so that can't really be helped." Em saw Robin smile weakly and let him go. With a nod of her head, she unsheathed her cutlass and gestured for him to follow her deeper into the sea shore.

She led him close to the water's edge. Em walked a few feet farther, turned to face him, and pointed her sword in a defensive stance. "Let's see how well you've learned from me these last three years," she called over the roar of the waves.

Robin unsheathed his own cutlass and held it up with both hands, relishing the moonlight that glinted off of his blade. Adrenaline began to pump into his veins as he stared down this infamous retired pirate. "Well then, be prepared to finally be unarmed!" he yelled before he ran towards her with everything he had.

Em laughed as she parried his thrusts with ease. "Don't get too cocky now," she warned him as she jumped back when he attempted to catch her stomach. Robin swung his blade, and Em flipped back. She laughed again when she noticed the amazed look on his face.

Robin gaped at her with open mouth. This was the first time he saw her do any acrobatics. "How did you do that?" he demanded as they stared down each other.

"It takes much time to learn what I now know and a lot of training to do what I just did and more. Even then"-they locked blades-"you still won't be able to surpass me." Em winked as she unlocked their blades. She smirked as Robin came back at her with more force and determination.

Robin noticed a flat rock near his right foot. A brilliant idea struck him. Putting distance between him and his mother, he shoved his blade into the sand. Using the flat side of his blade, he threw up sand in the air, making an effective screen. As his mother shielded her eyes with her free arm, Robin picked up the rock with the toe of his boot and kicked it as the sand screen disappeared. The rock hit its target: Em's sword hand. The sharp pain caused her to drop her weapon, leaving her nearly defenseless as Robin charged at her. Em jumped back and began dodging and flipping away from his blade, growing more tired.

"Give up!" Robin huffed, equally beginning to tire. "You're unarmed, and so that makes you defenseless."

Em dropped to the ground as he swung around his blade. "Oh, think I'm unarmed do you?" she said as her hand closed in the sand. When she saw his blade rise up to give her a mock-final blow, Em threw sand in Robin's face.

Robin coughed as he took a few steps back, shaking the sand out of his face. Mercifully, none had gone in his eyes. "That's cheating!" he spluttered when his vision refocused. He saw his mother standing a few feet away holding her cutlass.

Em smirked. "Pirate," she only said as they began to circle around each other. Em made no move to come near Robin, and whenever he made to take a step towards her, she only put more distance between them.

Robin began to lose patience with just circling there like a never-ending game. Seeing that his mother had an infinite amount of it from experience, Robin decided to use a new tactic. He stopped moving which forced Em to stop, but he kept his sword pointed to her. "Is that all you have?" He mock-yawned as if he was bored. "Cheap tricks and pretty ballet moves?"

Em's left eyelid twitched ever so slightly. "_Cheap tricks and pretty ballet moves_, eh?" she repeated angrily. As Robin had done, Em used the flat side of her blade to throw up sand. However, she struck the sand in a way that sent torrents of it flying towards Robin so that it looked like creatures from under it were coming at him. He took the bait as a real threat and began to cut at the sand.

It was all over when Em's cool blade pressed onto his neck. Robin's cutlass fell silently onto the sand as Em whispered into his ear, "The problem is that you constantly battle imaginary foes in front of you when you should really watch your back." Em released him and petted his head affectionately. "However, you did manage to unarm me like you promised so be proud!"

Robin began to walk away from her. Em bit her bottom lip, thinking he was upset. However, he stopped a few feet away from her and turned around with a determined look on his young face. Em let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"I want to do that again," Robin demanded despite how his body ached.

Em shook her head. "Another time," she promised. She held up her cutlass in front of her with one hand. "Right now, we need to work on your footing."

Robin groaned but obediently began to work on the exercises he had been first taught three years ago.

* * *

Em sighed and wiped the sweat off her brow. "I thought that went well," she remarked. She heard the soft sound of body hitting sand and turned around. Robin laid spread out on his back. His cutlass' blade was deep into the sand next to his head. He was looking up at her exasperatedly.

"_Only_ went well?" he exclaimed tiredly.

Em chuckled before she went over to him and stuck her cutlass into the sand next to his. "You'll get better," she told him wisely. "Greatness doesn't come quickly to some people. It takes time getting there." She paused before adding as an afterthought, "Although I firmly believe that your father would think otherwise."

Robin watched interestedly as his mother unlaced her boots and placed them on top of their weapons. He smiled when she smiled down at him before she ran into the cold water. Robin sat up and leaned back on his hands. He followed his mother with his eyes as she waded slowly through the shore, smiling happily as if she had no care in the world. Robin bit his bottom lip, a little quirk he had earned from her. From under the moonlight, Emelia Kraven looked young and carefree again. Her son began to wonder if this was how she was in her prime, fighting energetically with everything she had to offer and wearing these pirate clothes to boot.

After a while, Robin slowly got to his feet, rubbing the sand off of his hands. By now, his mother was waist-deep in the water with her back turned towards him. She seemed to be looking out into the distance as if she were waiting to see Jack Sparrow's ship suddenly appear in the horizon. Grinning mischievously, Robin quickly got in the water. He suppressed the urge to yell from the coldness and began to quietly wade towards Em. When he was just behind her, Robin jumped and shouted, but Em had known he had been there and waded out of his way. She laughed as he dove underneath the water and resurfaced with a sour look on his face.

Em splashed him. "You can't ever surprise me that way, Robin," she teased and threw more water on him. Suddenly, a small wave crashed down on them and she screamed in surprise because she felt as if a bucket of ice had been thrown on her.

Robin quickly stood up and pointed at her, laughing. "You look like a wet dog!" he exclaimed. Then taking the opportunity, he tackled her down into the water where they began a water fight.

When they finally strolled back onto shore and picked up their things before slowly heading back home, the dark sky above them was just beginning to thin into dawn. They were dripping wet as they traversed through the quiet town, but neither of them cared. Em had her arm wrapped lovingly around her son's shoulders.

"Mum, do I _have_ to go to school today?" Robin yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly for effect.

Em rolled her eyes, knowing what he was trying to do, but decided to give in just this one time. "No, you don't have to today, but tomorrow, yes," she said firmly, but her son only heard the first part and smiled widely. They walked out of town just as the early birds were starting to wake up.


	3. Dealings with a Dealer

Robin sat in the back of his small classroom feeling very bored. His teacher droned on and on about the so-called "Great Battle" between the British East India Trade Company and the eight pirate lords of the world. While Robin's fellow classmates feverishly took notes and listened in rapt attention, Robin merely yawned and tried not to seem like he was falling asleep. His ears perked up from time to time whenever his teacher uttered the name Jack Sparrow, but that was about all the attention he paid.

_Rubbish_, Robin thought contemptuously. His teacher was describing the military tactics of the Company that should have guaranteed them victory. _But they didn't win, did they?_ he thought sarcastically. Working at a family-owned inn had its good sides sometimes. From the sailors and pirates that stayed at the inn, Robin had overhead all the details of what really happened in this battle for the pirates' survival.

Robin hunched over his desk and looked out of the windows. He blinked when he saw a pair of dark eyes glaring back at him from one of the windows. However, when Robin did a double-take, the eyes were gone.

"Mr. Kraven!"

Robin jerked his head towards the front of his class where his teacher was looking sternly at him. "Yes, sir?" he asked blankly amidst the smirks his classmates directed at him. He was never the popular student among them. Rather, he started fights with his fellow peers.

His teacher shook a finger at him. "Mr. Kraven, if you are going to be part of my class, then do so! I will not tolerate idiotic students who waste my valuable time!" his teacher told him.

Robin glowered at him but nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied sullenly. When his teacher had gone back facing the blackboard, Robin glared at his classmates who promptly turned away from him. Sighing in frustration, Robin's head sank into his arms.

Robin Kraven remembered his mother once saying that broken promises have ways of coming back to a person like how the ocean tides come back to the shore. The promise made to One-Eyed Richard to give him payment in return for his boat came back to Robin like a crashing tidal wave.

The pair of dark eyes Robin had seen through the window belonged to one of the two cronies accompanying One-Eyed Richard. All three immediately stalked over to Robin as he emerged from the school building after class. The two taller cronies took places on either side of him.

"Well, well, well," One-Eyed growled. True to his name, only one coal-black eye glared into both of Robin's dark brown eyes. The whites of this lone eye were yellow, suggesting many years he had sailed in the sea. The socket where another matching eye should have been was empty, leaving only flabby, scarred skin. Rumor had it that he had lost his eye while fighting the feared pirate lord Barbosa who had taken his father's ship on two occasions. "You've been quite a hard boy to find."

With terror seizing his heart, Robin let them guide him away from his school building. He chanced a look over his shoulder and saw that some of his classmates had seen him being led away. To his dismay and even annoyance, they did nothing but turn away from him.

They stopped under a large tree and One-Eyed Richard and his cronies surrounding the rest of him. The boy wished now that he had his cutlass which he had left this morning at the inn as he stared at One-Eyed's livid face.

"Where be me money, boy?" One-Eyed Richard demanded as he shook a fist in front of Robin's face.

Robin held up his hands and tried not to recoil away from the foul stench of tobacco coming from his mouth. "I don't have your money-"

"_What?_" One-Eyed roared.

"-but if you would just give me more time, I promise I will give you your money!" Robin implored, but by the end of his plea, One-Eyed was roaring again, this time in laughter.

"Time! Time I have given to you, and you failed to give me sixty-five shillings! _No more time!_" One-Eyed shouted, spit flying. Jerking his head as a sign, his two cronies appeared on either side of Robin again and grabbed him tightly on both arms to prevent him from escaping. One-Eyed Richard's face came closer to Robin's face. "I'll say it again, boy. Give me payment, or," he paused for dramatic effect, "or it's your boat that'll pay."

Rage ignited in Robin's gut, but what could he do? If it was his boat than his body that this dealer wanted then he'd let them do whatever they wanted. But . . . he had worked very hard on his boat. When Robin failed to answer, the two cronies began to shake him violently. The golden necklace around Robin's neck slid out from under his shirt and caught the eye of One-Eyed Richard. His dirty hand grabbed the thin chain and held it up.

Robin saw the look in his eye and began to struggle against his captors' grips for the first time. He'd rather lose his boat than what his mother considered their family heirloom. "Get your filthy hands off of that!" Robin growled as he tried to jerk his head away from One-Eyed in an attempt to take away his necklace. Suddenly, he felt the sharp edge of a sword blade under his chin and tilted his head away from it instinctively. Robin stared into One-Eyed Richard's only eye, stunned.

The menacing dealer smirked widely, revealing crooked yellowing teeth. "Didn't think I still used one, eh?" he sneered. He gestured with his free hand that held Robin's necklace at the leather sheathe strapped on his side. "Losing me one eye didn't keep me from being what I was always meant to be!" he yelled. "_A pirate!_"

Seeing his necklace, Robin struggled again despite being held by blade end. "Take my boat! Take it! But give me that back!" Robin now pleaded. However, with another jerk, there was a soft click behind his neck and his necklace fell away. The chain dangled between One-Eyed's fingers.

"This will be enough to cover your payment," One-Eyed Richard said gleefully. He sheathed his rusted cutlass. Then the finger of his sword hand began to play with the tiny silver bell that dangled from the beak of the golden bird pendant. He suddenly turned stern. "Keep hold of him!" he barked to his cronies when he saw out of the corner of his eye that they were about to let their charge go. One-Eyed leered at Robin. "You're payment is covered, but that doesn't mean you'll be let off that easy for keeping me waiting."

The last Robin saw was his necklace still dangling in One-Eyed Richard's hand before all went black.

* * *

Em Kraven bent over and clutched her heart even as the crash of the plate she had held echoed through the full inn. All noise ceased and eyes turned to her in concern. Mrs. Coffei hurried over to her with a wet towel in her hands.

"You be all right, child?" she exclaimed.

Em slowly straightened and brought her shaking hands away from her chest. "I'm fine," she gasped as if something had gripped her throat a moment before. She looked around at all the faces watching the scene. Irritation swelled in her. "_Well? _Go back to your business!" she barked. When the usual buzz of noise resumed, Em quickly dodged customers and tables over to the bar counter.

Mrs. Coffei looked up from where she was picking up shards of the fallen plate on the floor. She saw her employer with the upper half of her body on the counter, reaching for something behind it. "What are you doing?" she inquired over the noise.

Em jumped down, now wielding Robin's cutlass that he had left before going to school that morning. She looked over her shoulder at the surprised Jamaican native. "There's something wrong with Robin," she said. "I felt it!" After telling Mrs. Coffei to watch the inn for her, Em bolted out of the inn as quick as lightning.

When Em skidded to a stop in front of the vast sugar cane field situated half a mile from her inn, she cupped her mouth with her free hand and called for Zanka Coffei. He came running through canes as tall as he, dreadlocks bouncing. When he saw his best friend's mother with a worried look on her face and his sword in her hand, Zanka's dark skin color paled.

Em saw this change and grabbed the collar of his cotton shirt. "Where is my son?" she demanded threateningly.

Zanka shook his head rapidly from side to side. "I-I don't know!" he said in a high-pitched voice. His wide dark eyes were staring at the sharp blade of the cutlass.

"Hey, hey Zanka! Ya never guess where I just saw Rob-" one of Zanka's younger brothers stopped in front of his older brother and Em Kraven. His jaw dropped stupidly.

Em threw Zanka to the ground and turned to his younger brother. "Where did you see Robin, Deron?" Em demanded, now with a hint of desperation.

The young boy's jaw snapped shut and he swallowed hard. He had also seen the large weapon she held in her left hand. "I saw him wit three ugly lookin' guys headin' for da docks!" he squeaked. "One of dem had only one eye!"

Em froze for a moment before she slowly turned to the ground. She pointed the end of Robin's cutlass threateningly at Zanka. "I know you had something to do with him dealing with One-Eyed Richard!" she shouted angrily.

Zanka denied it fervently. "H-Hey mon, I didn't do a thing! He made da deal to get himself a boat!" he said shrilly.

Then it made sense to Em: all those days when Robin would come to the inn or go home very late; that incident a few days ago with the stolen money. Cursing under her breath, Em spun on her heel and sprinted towards the docks with the quickness of a youth despite a dress hampering her.

She found One-Eyed Richard and two familiar cronies of his lurking under the stone bridge at the very end of the docks. Ruins of once was a small boat in the river caught Em's eye. Em didn't see her son, but she did notice from the distance she was from their group how suspiciously the two cronies were wading waist-high in the shallow river. Their bodies were bent forward with their hands in the water as if they were trying to find something. As Em drew nearer, she saw that there was a massive amount of bubbles erupting in the water between the two men.

Greatly alarmed, she held her cutlass in front of her and pointed it towards their leader who stood on the dry bank. "Where is my son, Richard?" she barked.

One-Eyed Richard slowly turned around. Although he warily kept his eye on her blade, a sly smile spread across his distorted face. "Why Miss Kraven, you almost look like the fierce pirate I 

once saw a _long _time ago," he simpered.

Em bared her teeth at the obvious insult. "I'll show you fierce if you don't procure my son this instant!" she said viciously.

One-Eyed looked over his shoulder at his cronies and nodded his head curtly. With a mighty heave, Robin erupted from the cold waters between the two cronies. He was very pale and soaked to the bone. His hair hung loosely around his head. He visibly shivered even as he coughed up salty liquid from his blue lips. The two men holding him up dragged him out of the water and the whole group slowly moved out into the open. One-Eyed jerked his head and the two cronies and Robin stayed behind him.

"I've showed you your son," he sneered. "You can have him back because he is no use to me now!" He laughed.

Em swung Robin's sword in front of her. She was outraged not because Robin could have drowned or worse, but that he had gotten himself into this mess. Em stepped forward, but then stopped as something hanging around One-Eyed Richard's thick neck caught her eye.

"You dare take that possession of mine!" she roared and pointed with the blade towards the golden necklace he had taken from Robin.

One-Eyed Richard snorted. "It's yer son's payment for the boat he bought from me ages ago; a payment he failed to give to me even after I kindly extended his time!" he shouted. "Besides," he cackled with a careless shrug, "he led me to assume it was his."

With a cry of rage, Em swiftly advanced on him.

Robin watched with half-closed eyes as his mother and the dealer locked blades. His vision kept going in and out of focus, but he knew enough that it was the former female pirate that had the upper hand; especially since she still had both of her eyes.

Em cried out in pain as she was nicked across her shoulder by a hidden dagger One-Eyed had taken out from the inside of his sleeve. Jumping back, they began to slowly circle each other.

The dealer's lips curled. He was eying the dress she wore. "You can't win with that on, lass," he mocked. "Whatever happened to that fearless woman that could make any man shake in their boots with just the thought of her, eh?"

For a moment as Em took hold of the bottom of her dress, it looked as if she was going to rip off the skirt. However, she lifted the skirt and revealed her old pistol strapped to the thigh of her left leg. Em took her pistol, cocked the hammer, and pointed it at the dealer. Now it was his turn to shake, but this time with fear.

"Release my son," Em demanded with an even tone.

"A-All right! Just . . don't shoot!" One-Eyed stammered. He slowly walked over to his two cronies and pried Robin from their grip. Then in a split second, Robin was in front of the dealer with a blade to his neck.

Robin tried to struggle. "You coward!" he yelled.

"I'm a pirate, boy! Even your dear old mum knows what a pirate has to do to survive!" One-Eyed Richard cackled as he gazed at Em with a mean glint in his eye. "Try shootin' now, Em Kraven!" he dared her.

For a moment, worry flitted onto Em's face, but then after a look at her son, it turned expressionless. She lowered her cutlass and pistol to the ground which One-Eyed took as a sign of defeat. He threw his head back, but instead of a shout of laughter erupting from his mouth, a yell of pain and anger came instead. His hold on Robin, who had elbowed the dealer hard in his chest, weakened and the boy pushed him away before running towards his mother.

"Duck, Robin!" Em ordered as her son ran into her vision. Without a word, Robin threw himself to the ground just as Em pointed her pistol at One-Eyed Richard and pulled the trigger. Not waiting to see where she got him, Em quickly leaped towards the fallen scoundrel's body and ripped the necklace from his neck. She shoved the item into the top of her dress before turning her back on the dealer. She leaned down to Robin.

"_Yeowww!_" Robin yelled as his mother grabbed him harshly by his upper right ear. He was forced to get onto his feet. Just before they marched away from the sight, Robin had one last look at One-Eyed Richard. His two cronies were long gone, leaving the dealer to fend for himself. He was clutching his head, most specifically holding onto his right side where crimson blood began to leak though the fingers. Em Kraven had shot his eye, making him blind for the rest of his life.

Robin silently trembled as Emelia Kraven brought him into town on their way back home, making sure to take the routes where no one would cross their path.


	4. The Mermaid's Tear

That night, he wasn't found anywhere. He wasn't in his moonlit-bathed bedroom when Em had grown irritated from repeatedly calling him down for dinner. Robin wasn't anywhere in the house.

His cutlass was tucked safely in the locked narrow wooden chest at the end of her bed, but that fact still did not diminish the uneasiness Em still felt. Abandoning the rapidly cooling dinner that laid on the table, Em strode past the wreckage that was once the sitting room and threw on a traveling coat before setting off into the night.

Em found her son down at the shoreline sitting on a large and flat boulder. He was not too far away from the spot where she had trained him a few nights ago. Robin had his knees pulled to his body with his chin resting heavily on them. He was staring forlornly out into the rough waves. Em stopped a few feet behind him, now sad from looking at this pitiable figure.

"Is there room for one more?"

She had spoken softly so as not to alarm him, but Robin had jumped anyway. His reaction was so intense that he would have slipped off the boulder had Em not caught him firmly on his upper arm. When he was steady, Robin quickly jumped off the rock.

Em raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that's a no," she said calmly.

Robin's dark brown eyes warily followed her as she took a seat on the boulder anyway. His chest was heaving as if he had swum a thousand miles. When his mother turned her eyes towards him, Robin felt his shame again and turned his back on her.

Almost no words needed to pass between them about what happened after Robin had been dragged back home by the ear. For the first time in his life, his mother had deeply scared him in her rage, which had finally gotten the better of her. The disaster of their sitting room was the end result.

Em leaned back on the boulder, bracing her arms on its roughly flat surface. Robin wasn't the only one feeling ashamed. Em felt the same way. Yet now content with having found her son, she crossed her ankles and began to softly whistle an old pirate song as the minutes stretched.

"What are you doing here?" said Robin after a while. He said this irritably over his shoulder, although still avoided eye contact.

Em stopped whistling and gave him an almost dark look. "I could perfectly say the same thing," she told him. "Turn around." Robin crossed his arms over his chest as a sign of defiance. Em sat straight and rolled up her sleeves. She scooted over a bit before leaning forward, taking the back of Robin's collar, and yanking him down onto the boulder next to her.

"_Ouch_," yelped Robin as his rear end came into sharp contact with the smooth rock. Still smarting, Robin pointedly turned his whole body away from his mother.

Em sighed in frustration. She ran a hand through one side of her long hair. After a debated silence, she spoke. "I don't know what to do with you anymore."

Robin sat up straighter. He had thought she was going to say along the lines of "I don't know where I've gone wrong". As this once mighty pirate began to talk again, his upper half of his body slowly turned towards her.

"I thought," Em continued, "that you would have known to come to me if anything bad was happening to you. Apparently, I was wrong," she added with a sarcastic note. She blinked away the tears of disappointment in herself. "It's my entire fault," she half-moaned. "It's my fault that you've never had a father-figure growing up. I know now that I should accept marriage with our landlord-"

"You _can't_!" Robin suddenly yelled. He was fully facing his mother now, teeth clenched with anger and eyes wide by disbelief. "You can't betray my father!" Robin snarled.

Em looked at him shrewdly. "Your father, you say," she drawled. "From what I saw and heard this afternoon, for all you having a father, you didn't act anything more than a parentless street rat."

Robin flinched as if he had been struck by an invisible hand. What she had said was a low blow. Anger bubbled rapidly in his gut, but with a great effort, Robin forced himself to calm down by taking deep breaths. He looked up at Em Kraven's stony face, which had turned to the crashing waves. "I don't want you to marry any other man," Robin began slowly with a hint of pleading that nearly bordered on begging. "Especially _that_ bloody git." His hand began to shake with anger and he quickly clenched it. "I know I acted like"-he gulped-"a 'parentless street rat', but I thought I could prove to myself that I can fix my own mistakes."

"Yet some things are too big to fix alone," Em retorted smartly. She looked like she wanted to say more on that matter, but then shook her head wearily. Instead, her eyes took on a distant look. She began to speak softly.

"Long ago, there was a mermaid who fell in love with a sailor. At one point in time, she saved him after his boat had accidentally hit a coral reef where it sank. The mermaid had two painful decisions to make shortly after rescuing him: to either give up her immortality and the love of her home the sea for the man she loved, or give up the love she had for him to keep her immortality and the only home she knew and loved dearly. With a heavy heart, yet without any regrets, the mermaid chose the sailor."

Robin didn't see how this had anything to do with their current situation. Yet, he found himself listening in rapt attention to the story.

"It is said that mermaids do not cry, but as this mermaid's tail began to slowly change into human legs, she shed one tear that turned into a glass orb. This became known as the Mermaid's Tear, a priceless treasure that when looked into, the beholder could see the sea within the orb." Em turned her head towards her son. Tears of her own glistened in her eyes. "That was the last story Vincent Drummond, my old caretaker and father-figure, ever told me. It was my hope," she added with a wistful smile, "that I could find this treasure."

Anticipation suddenly flared in Robin. He was observing his mother with excitement in his dark brown eyes. "Could we find this Mermaid Tear orb?" he demanded as a thousand sea adventures paraded in his mind.

Em's demeanor took on a mysterious aura. "Possibly; nothing's improbable," she said as she leaned back on her elbows and looked out towards the ocean again.

Robin fell silent, studying his mother, who suddenly looked quite worn-out right before his eyes. "You're not going to . . . marry our landlord, right?" he asked hesitantly.

Em gave him a side-long glance. "No," she said shortly. _Never_, she thought.

Robin finally burst with questions that he had needed to ask her since the day she had told him who his parents really were. "Why did you leave the ocean? The adventures? The treasures?"

Em Kraven slowly turned her head towards him again. She did not directly answer his question. Instead, she said, "Maybe one day you'll find you own adventures and treasures . . . along with your father."


	5. Michael, the Rose, and the Letter

Robin Kraven stood at the edge of the vast sugar cane field with the mid-afternoon sun blaring down on his body. He heard Zanka's high-pitched voice before he even saw his tall black friend over on the far side of the field from where he was. With a wary look towards the hunched backs of the other plantation workers, Robin walked swiftly through the shoulder-height sugar canes towards his best friend.

As Robin parted the last row of sugar canes that separated him from the small group, he heard Zanka ordering his three younger brothers while their oldest brother stood off to the side directing their actions.

"Hey, why aren't you doin' any work, Zanka?" demanded Deron, the second oldest brother, although still quite young compared to his seventeen year old brother. He was younger than Robin. The two younger brothers, both of whom were twins, began muttering similar complaints behind Deron.

Zanka clicked his fingers in front of their faces to get their attention. "'Cause I'm older than you, so I obviously know bettah than you bumbling baboons!" he snapped. Although Zanka looked very stern, it was plain with the brightness of his dark eyes that he clearly enjoyed having power over his brothers. "Now, get back to work!"

Robin decided to make his presence known as the three younger Coffei brothers bent back down to cut the sugar canes. "I don't really see the difference between your bunch of bumbling baboon brothers and you, Zanka," he mocked with his arms crossed over his chest.

Zanka quickly spun around. The frightened look that was on his face was quickly replaced with that of annoyance when he recognized the newcomer. "Jeez, mon! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he exclaimed before he walked up to Robin and slapped him hard on the back as his way of greeting.

Robin suppressed the urge to wince in pain as he retorted, "What? Thought I was the owner of this stinking plantation?"

"Robin! Robin, mon!" Zanka's three younger brothers had spotted their oldest brother's best friend, whom they liked slightly more than their own brother, and had dropped what they were doing to crowd around the two of them.

"Ya get us anythin', Robin?" asked the twins Darice and Darell hopefully.

Darell's eyes fell upon the long and sharp weapon hanging from Robin's belt and widened in excitement. "Hey, look at-"

"-that sword!" his twin Darice finished with just as much excitement.

"Actually, it's called a cutlass," Robin managed to say. "This was my mother's brother's weapon, but my mother had it re-forged for me."

Zanka clicked his fingers to in front of their faces to draw their attention to him. "Ya wanna know what our granddaddy once told me when I asked him questions?" he exclaimed.

"What?" his three brothers asked curiously.

"Get back to work!" Zanka snapped and pointed towards the abandoned area behind them. When his brothers, grumbling underneath their breaths, grudgingly went back to cutting the sugar canes, Zanka turned to his best friend with a smile. "So, where are we off to dis time?"

Robin grinned. "I thought we could go walking to the docks and watch who's coming to port," he suggested with a casual shrug.

"Oh, and what about yuh maddah, huh? Last I remembah, you got in trouble for-"

"For your idea of stealing for One-Eyed's payment," Robin cut in irritably.

Zanka slapped him hard again on the back with a snort. "I wasn't talkin' about that, bradda. I was talkin' about after wit One-Eyed himself!" Zanka clearly saw that Robin wasn't going to forget the stealing incident so soon, so he shrugged. "So we going to the docks you love so much, or not?"

"Are you _sure_ you won't get caught for skiving off work?" Robin persisted for the tenth time as he and Zanka passed through the town.

Zanka idly waved his worry away. "I got me braddas covering for me, as if they had a _choice_," he snickered.

Even though he didn't like his best friend's dishonesty most of the time, Robin had to laugh. Sometimes he wished he had siblings of his own. . . . but that possibility didn't seem too unlikely to him.

The docks were very full and busy today. There was a different yet very familiar kind of buzz among the sea-living folk as the two boys walked through the throng.

"Hm, I wonder what's up," Zanka said out loud as he craned his neck to see what was the reason for the extra bustling atmosphere.

Robin suddenly stopped in his tracks and nearly sent Zanka smacking into him. The younger boy was oblivious to his older friend's oaths as he shaded his eyes with his calloused hand. He spotted something off into the distance where a magnificent ship was docked on the other side of the port. Joy and excitement like he hadn't felt in a long while washed over him. Before Robin knew it, Zanka was calling after him as he set off in a dead run towards the end of the docks.

"Arr, watch it boy!" yelled an irate fisherman as Robin leaped over a barrel full of freshly caught fish.

"Watch where you keep your fish!" Robin called back over his shoulder, but he still kept his fast pace. His heart thundered painfully in his chest as he neared the end of the harbor. His dark brown eyes widened as a rough-looking man with short blond hair suddenly stepped in his way. "_Look out!_" Robin cried, but it was too late. As the man turned around, they collided painfully. The force sent them both to the wooden ground beneath.

"Ooh, bradda," Zanka panted as he came to a halt next to them. He shakily gave Robin a thumbs-up. "Good job."

"Shut up!" Robin growled as he blinked the white spots out of his eyes. His head was pounding from pain, and the stitch on his left side didn't make things any better.

"Would you gerroff of me!" growled the man Robin was still lying upon.

Robin quickly rolled off of him and got to his feet. Now that he recognized the figure, he didn't feel all that guilty for colliding and taking him down. He put his hands on his hips and sneered down at his godfather. "That better, Michael?" he mocked.

Michael Turnbull slowly picked himself off the ground, dusting his slightly wet clothes as he did so with a scowl on his still-handsome face. "You act more like Em when you do that," he growled, but his sky blue eyes were smiling for him. Michael held out his hand to his godson. "Good to see you again, Robin," he said.

Robin grinned and shook the offered hand. "Where have you been this time?" he demanded earnestly as he let go and turned to the ship they stood in front of.

It was unmistakably Em Kraven's old ship, but it was no longer called The Raven. After Em had settled in Bridgetown, she had given her ship to Michael who rechristened it The Black Rose. The Rose was still as magnificent as she was in her prime. The wood may seemed more worn out in some places, but -

"She's still a good ship," Michael said proudly. Michael was still a pirate, but he plundered less and traded more. He was more like a merchant, although from time to time he couldn't help plundering a few foreign ships. His skin was much darker and there were careful sea-worn wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes, but he still looked felt like a robust young man.

Zanka squinted up at the large ship that seemed to dwarf all the fishing boats in the port. "I don't know, mon. She looks like she could do wit a full makeovah," he said critically.

Michael slowly turned his head towards the tall Jamaican native with an irritated look on his face. "Aren't you supposed to be working at the sugar cane plantation near the inn?" he questioned sharply.

"Yeah Zanka, I think you should go back before you're found out," Robin agreed with an equal bite of annoyance.

Zanka quickly backed off with his hands up in the air. "Hey, hey, just lookin' out for a bradda," he said in his easygoing way. He waved goodbye. "Ah well, see ya later Robin."

"Bye Zanka," Robin called before Michael flung his muscular arm around his godson and began steering him towards the town. "Let's go find your mother," said Michael.

"What about your ship and crew?" Robin asked earnestly. He wanted to explore the deck and talk to some of the crewmen.

Michael threw his blond head back and laughed. "Nice try. The men can handle the ship. Come on, don't you want to hear where my past adventures had taken me?" he teased.

That was all Robin needed to hear.

* * *

"-of course, Briggen thought we were all doomed and kept yelling and yelling, but Godsworth shut him up by hitting him over the head. 'Course, then Briggen was knocked out and so we were a man down, but at least it gave me time to think up of a plan to escape those mermaids-"

"Oh really?" Em snorted as she entered into the empty main room of The Raven Nest Inn through the kitchen. "And if I were to ask Briggen what really happened, would he say the same thing happened?" she mocked. Em walked towards the roaring fireplace where Michael and Robin had taken to. She sat down on Michael's other side on the Persian rug which had once covered the floor of The Raven's captain's cabin. Em shared a grin with her son who sat cross-legged on Michael's other side. It was past sunset now, way into the twilight hours yet neither Em nor Robin wanted to trek outside back to their home amongst the surrounding hills.

Michael, who was staying at their family-owned inn, rolled his eyes and the pair. "Aye, he wouldn't agree to panicking though, but he'd agree to everything else that happened to us," he said.

"So what happened next?" Robin demanded.

"Actually, Robin," Em suddenly interrupted, "I need you to get something for me. Outside."

Robin looked at his mother in exasperation. "What? Can't it wait until the story is over?" he pleaded. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he sensed that his mother merely wanted to get him out of the inn to talk to her childhood best friend in private.

"No," Em said in that tone that warned her son to not argue any further. "Go outside to the pump and get more water."

Em waited until Robin had gotten the bucket from the kitchen (with as much noise as possible to vent his feelings) and gone through the back door with a loud slam that made the chandeliers above them shake before she turned to Michael. "Don't look at me like that," she said quietly to the pointed look he was giving her.

Michael leaned back on his hands and sighed. "You could have let him stayed," he said. He saw the sharp look on her face and backtracked. "Well, he obviously figured that you want to ask me about Jack."

Em was silent for a pregnant moment before she spoke again. This time, her voice was plainly full of restraint of hope. "Have you any news of where he's been?"

Michael sighed again before rubbing his tired eyes with the knuckles of one hand. Even before he spoke, Em knew that there were none.

"I'm sorry Em, but no one's heard from him since a month ago when he was in Portobello," Michael said apologetically. Em turned her face away so he couldn't see the pained look on her face, but Michael, knowing her too well, sat up and took one of her hands in both of his. "Keep faith, Em," he soothed. "You need hope as much as Robin. He's turning more into Jack every time I see him."

"Oh yes, very much like Jack," Em suddenly said with a bitter tone.

"Em?"

The weary single mother turned her head slowly towards Michael so that now he could see the tears slipping down her paled face. Michael drew Em in a comforting embrace and asked her what's wrong. In doing so, he broke open a dam full of confessions; Em's fear for Robin's future, his father's and once her attitude towards living trapped on land, her own fears for the inn, and the lack of money to pay off the landlord's debts.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Em sniffed once the worst of her tears were over. "I can't see any other option than to marry that bastard landlord," she whispered more to herself.

"You can't do that!" Michael exclaimed. He took her by the shoulders and gave her a slight shake. "Think of Robin for God's sake!" he said fiercely. "This isn't the brave woman I once knew talking!"

Em laughed, although the sound was as harsh as a storm in Michael's opinion. "The brave woman you once knew has been gone these past years," Em said darkly.

Michael glared at her. "That's not what Robin told me when we were walking through the town on our way here," he said.

Em fell silent for a moment before she looked curiously at her best friend. "What did he tell you?" she inquired.

"He told me about you taking down One-Eyed Richard and that you trained with him on the beach wearing your old pirate clothes. You see, if you can still do all that, the woman I _still_ admire is still there," Michael pressed.

"Maybe, but I can't tell Robin any of this. I don't want him to worry any more than I have to," Em lamented.

There was no need to anyway because Robin had never left the kitchen. He had only let them _hear_ the sound of the back door, letting them think that he had gone out to fetch water. This whole time he had been secretly listening from behind the swinging kitchen doors with frozen wide eyes and wildly swimming thoughts.

After he had come back into the main room, Em had decided that it was time for the both of them to leave Michael and go home. Neither of the adults had noticed that the bucket Robin had set down next to the door was empty of water or that he didn't complain about wanting to listen to the rest of Michael's story.

Em seemed to be as lost in her thoughts as Robin was. She bade him goodnight once they got back home and went straight upstairs to her room, locking the door behind her. However, later into the night, Robin was awoken by soft but distinct noises coming from the other end of the second floor hall. He slowly crept towards his mother's bedroom door and knelt in front of the keyhole. Robin pressed one ear gently onto the cold wood. The sound he heard deeply disturbed him.

Behind the door, Em Kraven was crying.

Frightened, Robin quickly but quietly stole back to his room. Yet he didn't go back to sleep right away. He felt under his bed and took out his cutlass in its leather sheath. From his closet, he took out a large burlap bag and began to fill it with some of his belongings like articles of clothes until his own silent tears began to blur his vision, forcing him to stop. Robin staggered towards his bedroom window and threw it open before heavily plopping down on the windowsill. He drew his knees close to his body and buried his tear-stained face amidst his arms.

* * *

The early morning Michael Turnbull and The Black Rose were scheduled to leave Bridgetown, Robin woke up long before his mother would stir in her bed hours later. Dressing in his sturdiest clothes, Robin secured his cutlass at his waist before hoisting his burlap bag over his shoulder. He stopped just on top of the stairs and looked over at the locked door leading into his mother's bedroom. Robin placed his bag on the top step before stealthily walking over to the door and picking the lock.

When he saw his mother lying on her bed, he felt a pang of guilt in his stomach seeing the calm and peaceful features of this once great pirate woman. Robin felt another pang when he took out from his pocket a letter that he placed neatly on the night stand next to his mother's bed. Making a quick and reckless decision, Robin swiftly leaned over the bed and kissed his mother goodbye on her forehead before backing away and leaving the room.

He took his bag on his way downstairs, and without a backward glance up the stairs, he yanked the front door open and was gone.

Because of how early it was, almost all the crew members of The Black Rose were too sleepy and lightheaded from last night's rum to notice a young boy amongst them on the docks. Robin took refuge behind a stack of rum barrels tied together to catch his breath because he had run through the town to get there. He set his bag down beside him, got down on his knees, and took deep gulping breaths to steady both his nerves and his racing heartbeat.

Then suddenly, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and gasped as he was made to turn around. However, all he saw was -

"Zanka!" Robin exclaimed in shock.

His best friend grinned as he helped Robin back onto his feet. "Hey, bradda. Ya think I'd let you leave me here all by me onesies while you have a grand adventure?" he demanded. He wagged a finger under Robin's nose. "Shame on you, mon!"

"But . . I - How did you - I didn't tell you-!"

Zanka quickly covered his mouth as a pirate passed close to their hideout. When the pirate had passed, he took his hand away. "You didn't have to tell me anything, although it would have made things more easy-ah if you had," Zanka said and gave Robin the evil eye. "I knew somethin' was up because yuh've been actin' weird and quiet for the last three days since yuh godfather came. I just put the pieces o' da puzzle togethah and figured yuh'd try and run away."

Robin winced at how easily Zanka could say "run away", but then he realized something. "You're not seriously thinking of coming with me?" he asked weakly. However, Zanka moved aside to show Robin his own burlap bag filled with clothes and knew Zanka was serious. Nothing was going to change his mind.

Zanka reached into his pants in that familiar way and extracted his hardboiled brown egg. He kissed it soundlessly and held it up close to Robin's face. "Wanna kiss me lucky egg?" he asked.

For once looking over the fact of where the egg had come from, Robin quickly kissed the egg's warm surface before stooping down to pick up his burlap bag as a deep sound of a ringing bell boomed over the crewmen. The ship was almost ready to cast off. "Get ready," he hissed over his shoulder. "This is gonna be our only chance."

It was easy for Robin to avoid those men who definitely knew who he really was. In a flash, he and Zanka ran onto The Black Rose and flew down the flight of winding rickety stairs until they reached the cargo hold. They placed themselves in the most crowded spot filled with enough cargo to hide them.

_What are we getting ourselves into?_ Robin wondered as he and Zanka settled into the cramped space, waiting for the ship to take off. He clutched the small bird pendant hanging off the gold chain around his neck.

Em sat up quickly in her bed, eyes wide. Her hands quickly went to her chest, where her heart was beating wildly. Her head instantly went to the bedroom door which was ajar. Em threw the bed sheets from her body and jumped out of bed, knocking into her night table. She felt something fall onto her foot. Looking down, she saw that it was a note. She bent down and grabbed it, instantly recognizing Robin's untidy handwriting.

_Dear mother,  
_

_I'm really sorry you had to find out this way, but I'm running away. It's not for good, though. I __will__ come back. I heard everything the night Michael came back. I was hiding behind the kitchen doors. I also heard you crying so I took it upon myself to go find my father and even the Mermaid's Tear. I know finding both of these will solve all our problems. I found the map Mr. Drummond had given you in the chest at the foot of your bed. Please forgive me, please don't marry the landlord, and __please__ don't come after me. I need to do this. I will make you proud.  
_

_Love from your son,  
__Robin Kraven Sparrow_

Tears splattered the parchment and Em's lower lip trembled. She hugged the letter to her heart.

"I _am_ proud of you," she whispered.


	6. The Stowaways and the Capture

"So, how long do ya think we'll be here for?" Zanka's loud voice pierced through the creaking and groaning the moving ship made, making Robin jump in surprise.

He turned his head towards Zanka with an irritated look. "Don't _do_ that!" he hissed with sudden temper.

"Do what?" questioned Zanka bewildered.

"Don't talk so loud, that's what, you numbskull," Robin snapped, his own strained voice echoing throughout the cargo hold. They both fell silent then, and Robin immediately regretted being snappy towards Zanka. However, he couldn't help feel a bit resentful mixed with relief. Not only was his best friend willing to run away with him to certain danger, but Robin knew that Zanka also didn't want to be left out of an adventure. "Look, I'm sorry," Robin muttered after a few moments' silence.

Zanka shook his head and reached over a small crate full of apples to pat Robin's back in his good-naturedly way. "Ah, forget about it, bradda. No harm, no foul." As his hand slipped back towards his side, his stomach suddenly gave a long growl before silence once more.

Robin and Zanka looked at each other first with anxiety that someone on the upper decks had heard, and then it turned into amusement as they began to chuckle to themselves. Robin's eyes traveled to the crate of apples in between them. Zanka seemed to have caught on to his train of thoughts. Together they pried open the lid and feasted on the crisp apples for their late breakfast.

"Wouldn't they notice if dere be food missin'?" Zanka dared to ask aloud after all the apples were gone.

Robin thought about that for a moment while letting his eyes wander around their surroundings. The spot they had chosen to hide in was surrounded by many crates and barrels which hid them almost perfectly from anyone looking for food. Yet even the most drunken pirate would be able to figure out there were stowaways on the ship if they were to find empty crates in the same spot. He told Zanka his theory and the older boy agreed.

"Maybe we could move to different spots," suggested Zanka with a contemplative look. "Ya know, spread out da empty crates so they think it's a loose animal in 'ere."

Robin grinned at the same time Zanka did, both silently agreeing with the idea. They decided not to move now but in a few days. However, Robin was mostly worried about how long it would take until they reach land _and_ where was The Black Rose heading.

"Why don't _you_ go and find out where we be goin'?" Zanka argued in a forced hush tone.

Robin sighed in exasperation and ran his fingers through his unruly hair, getting them tangled in the process. "I told you, some of the men already know me because they used to sail with my mother. I could easily be recognized! But you; Michael's the only one who could recognize you, and he's easy to avoid," he said heatedly as he tried to extract his fingers out of his hair. "Look mate, all you have to do is go up deck and talk to the first person you see. Then ask them where are we going, and if they ask why you don't know, say you've been stuck in the galley - that's the name for a ship's sort of kitchen," Robin added noticing the confused look on Zanka.

His companion narrowed his eyes trying to find some sort of way to get out of doing this, but he couldn't find any and had no choice. "Fine, but if I get caught, I'm bringin' you down wit me, mon," Zanka snapped as he extricated himself from their cramped hiding place and silently left Robin.

While Robin impatiently waited (for he didn't like sitting idle with nerves racking his gut like a bird in a cage), he reached into his bag and, with some difficulty, carefully pulled out a very old and yellowing map. It dated to the mid-fourteenth century. Written in Latin, Robin was thankful to see his mother's neat handwriting that translated the old language. He hadn't had time to look at this map when he had first taken it two days prior. His hungry eyes feasted on the map's contents, remembering every little detail.

There were many arrows in the same faded black ink that the landmarks were also drawn with, but only one line really captured Robin's attention. A soft red dotted line started off the edge of the map's right side. With his finger, Robin traced the path that ran through the huge Atlantic Ocean, cut right into the Caribbean past the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola, and ended at a large island marked Curacao.

A hand from behind suddenly grabbed Robin's shoulder and he began to yell, but another hand clamped itself tightly over his mouth.

"Robin!"

The young boy stopped struggling when he recognized to voice. When they thought he wouldn't make any more noise, they released him and walked into Robin's vision. Zanka's face was paler, but his black eyes glittered with excitement from his bout of adventure up deck.

"Zanka!" Robin gasped. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Zanka smirked, his color returning to his face. "Yeah mon, ya gave me one too," he replied. He settled down in his spot on the other side of the empty crate and rubbed his hands enthusiastically. "That was fun!" he said energetically. He regaled his tale. The first person he met when he went onto the main deck was Briggen. Like Robin had told him previously, Zanka told the equally tall pirate that he was working in the galley, and that the cook wanted to know where they were heading for fear of food depletion. Briggen told Zanka the most wonderful news that he could ever hear.

"The ship's headin' to Jamaica, bradda!" Zanka exclaimed with happiness. "Me home! I be comin' back!"

"_Shh_, Zanka!" Robin hissed. "You're going to be heard." His own thoughts were swimming. He placed the map onto the empty crate between them and pointed out the tiny island that was farthest into the Atlantic Ocean. "Here's Barbados," Robin said. He traced an imaginary path towards a very large island beneath Cuba marked "Jamaica". "Here's where we are going. Did Briggen say specifically where in Jamaica?" he pressed. Zanka nodded. "Yeah, he said we be goin' to some Port Royal," he said.

Robin found it hard to keep his jaw from dropping. "Th-that's a pirate haven," he croaked, clearly stunned. Before he was born, Port Royal had been one of the most anti-pirate ports in the Caribbean, but six years ago, a massive earthquake had shook the port and sent half of the town into the water. Pirates overran it (his father rumored to have been one of them), and the once reputable port became the new pirate haven. Tortuga was still the most infamous, but Port Royal was second best.

Robin's dark brown eyes stared hard at the island of Jamaica before he slowly sat back with his burlap bag cushioning his back and sighed heavily.

"How long do ya think it'll take 'fore we get to dis Port Royal?" demanded Zanka, failing miserably to hide his eagerness to coming back to his native land.

Robin looked up at the ceiling which was actually the third deck's floor. The very faint strips of sunlight he had seen a while ago were now gone, giving thought that it was now into the night. Only the few and scattered lanterns that he and Zanka had lit when they had first hid in the cargo hold were their only light.

"I think it's take at least a week," Robin finally said. "We're using the Trade Winds, so that's helping us get there faster."

Zanka nodded as he also leaned back onto his burlap bag. He closed his eyes. "'Night, mon," he yawned and was soon fast asleep.

Robin stretched, trying to find a more comfortable position. His eyelids fluttered with fatigue until they slowly began to droop. Before he fell asleep, his right hand grasped the golden necklace lying around his neck. He may have been dreaming, but he thought he heard the tiny silver bell tinkle.

* * *

Robin and Zanka began playing the game of cat and mouse the next day. Moving to a more secluded spot away from the crate and box they had emptied was their only source of exercise. Zanka couldn't go back up because doing so would risk exposure.

Sometimes during the next few days, tensions between the two boys would reach to a breaking point. Zanka had the habit of taking out his lucky egg and playing with it. While that didn't really bother Robin, Zanka's steady stream of sighs and moans about being bored did. For his part, Robin had a habit of sliding his cutlass in and out of his leather sheath so that it sang continuously. This greatly irritated the older boy.

Because of their tendency to break into small hushed arguments, they were nearly caught more than once. Twice Zanka had to fall back on his alias of being the cook's helper.

However, Zanka had been right. The crew had taken the empty boxes and crates as a loose animal in the cargo hold. This was not uncommon for the ship held a few domestic animals in cages just in case there was a shortage of salted meat, but it did irk the captain Michael Turnbull.

"Go find that blasted animal and contain it," he ordered Briggen and Godsworth one morning, five days after they had left the island of Barbados.

The two men saluted. "Aye, cap'n," they said.

They went down to the cargo hold. Each carried a lit lantern. Briggen wrinkled his long pointed noise as he stepped in the dark and dank place. "This place stinks up to high heaven," he grumbled. "Blimey." There was a loud splash that immediately alerted the two stowaways to the intruders.

"Bloody hell," Robin swore softly under his breath. He looked over to where Zanka sat behind an empty crate and saw that his best friend's eyes were frozen wide in fear.

"Wi gotta tell the cap'n that thar be a leak in'ere," Godsworth grunted. He heard a noise to his left and turned to the spot that he didn't know hid the two stowaways.

Robin reached over the crate and grabbed Zanka by his shirt, pulling him closer. "We gotta hide from them. They're _searching_ for the cause of the missing food!" he hissed in Zanka's ear before letting him go. Taking the lead, Robin silently hoisted his burlap bag over his shoulder and motioned with his head for Zanka to do the same. When he did, Zanka cautiously stood up with Robin. Together they carefully picked their way through the cargo and towards a place far away as two bobbing lantern lights slowly came their way.

As they approached, Godsworth handed Briggen his lantern before using his massive bulk that his tall and skinny crewmember lacked to move aside the cargo.

Briggen lifted the two lanterns higher to cast more light. "Well, look-y 'ere," he whistled low as both he and Godsworth observed the mess Robin and Zanka had left. It was obvious that they were dealing with no loose animal. To attest to this, Briggen reached down and picked up a cutlass still in its leather sheath. "Thar be stowaways in our ship," growled Briggen. "An' it seems to me that they're armed."

"This is it, mon," Zanka whispered fearfully. Robin could feel him trembling. "We're gonna be getting it now."

Robin turned his head towards him and glared. "Shut up, shut up!" he whispered fiercely. He was already silently berating himself for accidentally leaving his only weapon. However, Zanka didn't hear him as he unconsciously began to back up until his back hit a precarious-looking pile of barrels. Robin's eyes widened as the barrels began to sway when Zanka bumped into the pile's weak base. "Zanka, look out!" he shouted.

Not only did his yell tipped-off the two pirates, but the sudden crash of the barrels echoed horribly throughout the cargo hold.

"Thar they be, the scalawags!" roared Briggen. "Let's get 'em!"

Zanka and Robin looked at each other for only a moment before Zanka mock-saluted his best friend and uttered "see ya, mon" before he took off. Robin's eyes widened even more, this time in fear, as two lanterns swung over his head, bathing him in dim light. He froze as large hands grabbed him roughly by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to his feet. For a second, he came face to face with a large burly man with a graying close-shaved beard and an eye patch over his left eye before the lanterns swung away and they were bathed in darkness.

"Briggen, come back 'ere wit the bloody lights!" Godsworth shouted over his wide shoulder. There were sounds of a scuffle, and then the sound of glass breaking. "What in the devil's goin' on over thar?"

The sounds of a body being dragged drew closer to them along with one dim ball of light. Briggen lifted the lantern high, casting light over Zanka who had a bloody nose but was otherwise fine in the pirate's steel grip. "'E broke me light!" Briggen whined.

Godsworth shook his shaggy head. "Never mind 'im," he grumbled as he turned his head back towards Robin. His eyes widened in surprise as the feeble light reflected the dark brown orbs Robin had inherited from his mother. "Oy Briggen, look-y 'ere! This lad look as familiar as me thinks he is?" Godsworth exclaimed.

The taller pirate moved closer with the lantern. When his own pale eyes settled on Robin, they also widened in his sockets and he gasped. "Bloody hell!" he swore.

* * *

"Cap'n! Ye won't believe this!" Briggen yelled as he and Godsworth burst into the Captain's Quarters forcefully dragging their captives behind them by the arms.

Michael's jaw dropped as Robin and Zanka were thrust in front of his sky blue eyes and Briggen placed Robin's cutlass on Michael's writing desk. However, his sudden burst of rage was only for the younger boy.

"Robert Jacob Kraven!" Michael thundered, slamming his hands on the writing desk that separated them. Godsworth and Briggen were long gone, leaving the boys, but most particularly Robin, to deal with their captain. "What do you _think_ you're doing here, you daft curr?" he roared.

Beside him, Zanka trembled, but Robin was used to hearing far worse from his mother; and that was _without_ using pirate lingo. "Look Michael, there's nothing to worry about-" but apparently this was the worst thing to say because his godfather's tan face became an ugly red.

"_Nothing to worry about?_ What, have you taken leave of your senses?" he yelled. "You're on a bloody pirate ship! We could get raided _any_ moment. This ship isn't a place for a thirteen year old and a black seventeen year old."

"I've left Mother a note so she won't worry-"

Michael's harsh laugh drowned out the rest of what Robin was going to say. This was uncharacteristic of him, but fear for his godson did that to him. "Of course she'll still worry, Robin." Michael sighed in frustration. He walked around the writing desk and put his hands on Robin's shoulders. "Look Robin, this isn't some little adventure," he said sternly. "You could get injured, or worse!"

Robin threw Michael's hands off of him and stepped back, shaking in anger. "I know this isn't 'some little adventure', Michael!" he shouted. "This is _far_ from one! I'm going to find my father!"

Michael paled before shaking his head slowly. "No you're not," he said quietly. "Look Robin, I can understand why you would feel compelled to find Jack, really I do, but neither Em nor I could ever forgive ourselves if anything happened to you. I'd turn around the ship right now if I could, but we unfortunately can't sail against the Trade Winds without being blown into some strange island or reef. So, once we get to Port Royal, I am taking you and Zanka home straight away."

"Fine with me!" suddenly Zanka said with a wide smile, happy that he wasn't going to get fed to the sharks or some other horrible pirate punishment. However, his elated bubble burst when two sets of glares were directed his way. He immediately fell silent again.

Robin turned back to Michael. This time there was a pleading note in his voice, "_Please_ Michael. I have to do this. I need to show my mother that I can make something of myself."

"And this is by finding Jack Sparrow?" Michael dryly remarked.

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow," Robin couldn't help correct, and he also couldn't help feel a small swell of pride for doing so. He wasn't going to mention about the Mermaid's Tear. Michael was all ready raising a commotion about him wanting to find his father.

Michael's sky blue eyes grew stormy. "You're going back home whether you like it or not," he said determinedly.


	7. Jolly St Nick or Joshamee Gibbs?

The Black Rose silently bobbed on top of the glassy surface of the water underneath the starless night sky. It was very late. Only Robin Kraven was awake. Preferring to stay in the out and open than vainly trying to catch some sleep down in the cramped crew's quarters, he had relieved the watcher and settled comfortably in the crow's nest.

Well, almost comfortably. Robin was frustrated and, above all, angry. He and Zanka weren't supposed to be cut short from their adventure, especially in his personal mission. Robin didn't want to go back to Bridgetown, Barbados, where there was nothing there for him. This afternoon when he was walking amongst the hardworking crewmen, he _felt_ like this was where he finally belonged.

However, now he was confused as he remembered the promise he gave to his mother in his letter. Would he find Jack Sparrow and the Mermaid's Tear and then go back, or would he find both things and stay at sea with his father?

Robin was startled out of the storm raging in his mind from noises coming from below. On his right side, the shroud that was one of six large nettings that helped hold up the three masts creaked loudly as someone below climbed towards him at this moment. Terrible thoughts of the ship being taken over entered his head, but before he could figure out a way to defend himself, a familiar face popped up over the edge of the crow's nest.

Michael gave his godson a peculiar look when he noticed the look of fright that changed to relief on him. "You know, your mother was more than once stuck sleeping in the crow's nest when we had a joint adventure with your father," he said quietly as he hoisted himself into the nest beside Robin.

Although Robin was secretly grateful for the valuable piece of his parents' past, he also knew Michael was trying to get Robin to speak to him. The whole day, Robin had been giving his godfather the cold shoulder along with ugly looks behind his back. Despite the cramped space, Robin pointedly shifted so that his back faced Michael Turnbull.

Michael sighed in frustration. "Robin," he said wearily, "please don't think I don't care about Jack Sparrow. I know you want to find him, but you're also being selfish. Think of your mother. She needs you helping her back at the inn. You can't afford to go gallivanting around the Caribbean looking for your father. Frankly, I think he doesn't want to be found."

However it was plain that Robin had put up an invisible wall between the both of them. He neither responded verbally or otherwise to Michael's words, but his last words stung Robin. Was it possibly true? Did Jack Sparrow not want to be found?

Michael couldn't even see Robin's face and so didn't see the pain in his dark brown eyes. Feeling more than ticked off for his godson's stoic attitude, Michael carefully lifted himself onto his feet and threw one leg over the edge. When his lower body had disappeared below the edge of the crow's nest, Michael spoke again.

"You can ignore me all you want, Robin. I'm only doing what's best for you and Em." Michael began to climb down, but as an afterthought, he mysteriously added, "By the way, I'm not taking useless but able bodies onto my ship."

True to his words, the next early morning, Briggen woke up Robin. Bleary-eyed and feeling the effects of sleeping in a cramped space, he was told that Michael has made him the ship's cabin boy. So for the whole grueling day, Robin was ordered about by Michael and supervised closely by Briggen as he did various jobs all over the ship. He found out later just after noon that Zanka had been given the job as cook's assistant when Robin had been told to go down and help prepare the noon meal.

"Can you _believe_ this?" Robin blasted angrily as he and Zanka entered the cargo hold to find the crate holding some fruit the surly cook wanted.

"Ya mon, I heard ya," Zanka said lazily as he began picking through the crates and barrels. "I think da crate is ovah dere." He pointed to a cage full of clucking chickens and then to a small wooden box next to it. The two walked towards it.

Robin had to bite down on his tongue to keep from uttering a groan of pain as they lifted the rather heavy crate and moved towards the door. For nearly four solid hours after he had been woken up, he had helped scrub the entire first deck. Actually, he should have been angry at Zanka right now because when the deck had finally been scrubbed, Zanka had ran out from the hatch and promptly threw up on the clean floor from seasickness.

"_How was I s'posed to know dat I get sick at sea?_" he had moaned.

Robin had to clean the mess up by himself. His whole upper body burned and ached as much as his knees were jabbed sharply with pain each time he took a step.

"I didn't leave Barbados for _this_," Robin hissed through gritted teeth as they entered the galley. They set the crate down on top of the rickety wooden long table there.

"Well, look on da bright side," Zanka said so cheerfully that one would not have guessed that hours ago he had been retching his guts out. Apparently, he only got sick if the ship rocked too much. "We be dockin' in Port Royal in two days."

However, Robin didn't have much time to think about that or a plan of escape because for the rest of the day, he was kept very busy. He had a strong suspicion that Michael wanted to keep him from thinking of a way to escape from being brought back to Barbados. That night when he collapsed into his hammock in the crew's quarters, he was too tired and sore to think about anything beyond his pain.

The morning that The Black Rose was due to dock in Port Royal, Robin and Zanka were woken up by Briggen and Godsworth. They were hauled into the Captain's Quarters where Michael stood behind his writing desk. On top of the maps littering the surface, Robin's cutlass lay. Michael cleared his throat.

"We are only staying here long enough to restock any supplies, so I expect our departure back to Barbados by tomorrow morning. In the mean time, to ensure that either, or both, of you escape this ship, you will be tightly confined in this office with both Briggen and Godsworth guarding the doors _with their lives_," he stressed the last words particularly to the two pirates behind the boys.

"Aye, cap'n," they muttered and nodded before they turned around and exited the room.

Michael strode around the writing table and past the boys. He faced them once he was just outside the double doors and held up a small key. "As an extra precaution"-_Against you_, plainly said Michael's face as he looked at Robin-"these doors will also be locked."

Robin gave Michael an open dirty look before the doors were shut and locked. "Don't worry, we won't be _too_ bored," he muttered darkly as he turned around and grabbed his cutlass off the table. He tied it back on its rightful place on his waist. He quickly scanned the room, which had once belonged to his mother when she was the ship's captain. Robin's dark brown eyes fell upon an old reclining couch sitting next to the writing desk and he smirked.

Zanka, who had been watching with sleepy eyes, now perked up with curiosity as he observed Robin moving towards the reclining couch. "What are ya doin'?" he asked as Robin took one end of the couch and proceeded to push the furniture closer to the desk.

Robin's eyes landed on the Oriental rug that the couch had been covering. He looked up at Zanka's question with eyes gleaming. "We're getting out of here," he only said before he bent down and ripped off the rug to reveal a secret hatch.

Zanka gasped. "Amazin'! How'd ya know about it?" he demanded as Robin put the rug on top of the reclining couch and then soundlessly threw open the hatch. Stairs met their vision.

Robin motioned for his best friend to follow him and after a wary look towards the locked double doors, together they silently descended down. In a hushed tone, Robin explained that the stairs led directly into the crew's quarters and how multiple times his mother had used this secret passageway to evade takeovers. Like Robin said, they emerged cautiously into the crew's quarters.

Zanka asked, "So what's da plan?"

Robin thought furiously for a moment before saying, "Well first off, we have to get off this bloody ship. We gotta concentrate on not being seen by Briggen and Godsworth. When we're in town, I'll think of something else."

"But what 'bout our things?" Zanka asked. "Our bags? Your map?"

"The map I have." Robin patted his front left pant pocket reassuringly. "And really, that's all we need."

"That, and me lucky egg," Zanka added as he also patted the spot in his pants where his egg was kept.

"Right. All we need now is to get off the ship without Briggen and Godsworth seeing us."

"How 'bout a distraction, then?" suggested Zanka. "Keep them baboons preoccupied long 'nuff for us to get off da boat?"

"It's a ship, Zanka," Robin couldn't help correcting, but he agreed none of the less. "But how are we going to distract them?"

Zanka smiled widely. "Leave dat up to me, bradda."

And Zanka's plan was simple but very effective. As Robin snuck up onto the main deck and hid amongst a pair of tied longboats, Zanka ran to the cargo hold. There, he proceeded to let out every domestic animal out of its cage before he ran to the cook, pretending to panic about it.

A great muffled roar from underneath the floor boards alerted any free man up deck.

_"Blasted animals!"_

Like Zanka had planned, the uproar from the very surly cook attracted the two pirate watches in front of the double doors.

"Blimey, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bloody hammock," Briggen grumbled, but he was craning his long neck interestedly towards the hatch leading down to the lower decks. He turned his head to Godsworth. "Ye reckon 'e needs any 'elp?" he wondered out loud.

Godsworth looked wearily over his shoulder at the locked doors behind them. There hadn't been any kind of suspicious sound coming from inside since the captain had locked the doors. He turned back to his front as another roar echoed from out of the hatch. Godsworth nodded and hitched up his trousers. "Might as well see what's goin' on down thar," he grunted and the both of them ambled towards the hatch.

Having seen and heard the whole exchange, Robin's eyes widened as they moved off towards the hatch. That wasn't what he wanted happening! They weren't supposed to move from their post! How was Zanka going to escape without being seen and caught?

However, that's what Zanka Coffei miraculously did. Moments after Briggen and Godsworth disappeared, the tall black teenager stumbled out of the hatch.

"Zanka!" Robin whispered hoarsely with relief. His best friend spotted him and ran towards him. "How'd you get out of there?" Robin asked weakly.

Zanka's face split into a grin. "I hid behind a few chickens before slipping out behind a barrel I rolled wit me, mon."

"Brilliant!" Robin said. He looked to his left and then right before signaling for them to stand up. "C'mon, let's get off this ship!" Under cover as crewmen going into town for a good time, they scurried down the gangplank and onto the docks before getting lost amidst the bustling crowd into the town.

Ever since Robin had heard about half the town sinking into the sea after a massive earthquake had shaken it, he had always imagined the town to be less polished and more like Tortuga after he found out pirates overran it. Well he was both right and wrong. The town was completely like Tortuga in many respects. Although it was not yet noon, the streets and buildings and people in general acted as if night had all ready fallen. Series of loud gunshots and cannon shots alike echoed through the air and mixed with the crescendo of a variety of voices. Prostitutes and drunks alike ambled over the cobblestones and fights periodically broke out into the streets from inside the buildings.

While Robin was secretly disgusted about everything, he couldn't help feeling his excitement and sense of freedom rise. Because there was nothing to tie him down anymore, he felt as if he could do _anything_. Then suddenly remembering why he was here in the first place, Robin turned around to speak with Zanka. However, his best friend happened to be in the clutches of a ragged-looking woman wearing a very loose gown and lots of smudged makeup.

"How's about coming along with me for a drink, my dear?" the prostitute purred as she trailed a scarlet fingernail along Zanka's dark jaw.

Zanka's chest seemed to puff up with pride. "Well, certainly-"

"_Not_," Robin cut in sharply. He grabbed Zanka by the upper arm and yanked him out of the woman's grasp. "We happen to be busy at the moment," Robin added roughly at the ugly look the prostitute threw at him.

She placed her hands on her hips and huffed haughtily. "Well then I'll be on my way for some _real_ men!" she sniffed and stalked away.

"Aw bradda, why'd ya have to go and do dat?" Zanka whined as Robin steered him into the nearest bar. Luckily, he chose a place where there was no brawling but raucous laughter and dancing going on. They stopped in front of an empty table and sat down.

Robin gave Zanka an irritated look when he continued to complain. "Look Zank, we didn't come here for you to talk to dirt like that," he said disgustedly.

Zanka waved it away before tapping the back of a thin rough man who was just passing by him. "Hey bradda, can ya spare a mon a drink? One shot will do," he said and then clicked his fingers.

"Zanka!" Robin hissed warningly, but the man turned around with a dirty look to match the prostitute's.

He immediately grabbed Zanka by his collar, hauling him onto his feet. The pirate's red face, which was clean-shaven but as thin as his body, turned scarlet as he glared at Zanka. "What did ye just say to me, nigger?" he growled, his yellowed eyes glinting behind the stringy grey curtains of his hair on either side of his face. This pirate didn't look much, but with those eyes, anyone can sense the danger a mile away.

"Hey mon, i-it's all a misunderstandin'!" squeaked Zanka as he circled his hands around the pirate's wrist.

The pirate growled even more. "Do ya know what wi do to nigger's tha' step outta line 'ere?" he demanded with a twisted grin. With his free hand, he reached towards his belt and pulled out a small sharp dagger. He held it up to Zanka's eyes. "Wi cut thar _tongue_ off," he hissed.

If Robin didn't do anything to stop this, Zanka would have just spoken his last words. Robin jumped out of his seat and pulled out his cutlass and pointed it at the pirate. "Let him go," he demanded with calmness in his tone that he didn't know he had. It was quite the opposite of how he felt right now.

However, the pirate did let go of Zanka, and then turned his anger towards Robin. His height towered over the young boy. Robin now felt like he was carrying a stick than a sword. "Ye gonna do somethin' abou' it, _boy_?" he thundered.

"Slice and dice 'im, Adder!" someone nearby yelled.

Robin back up a little and placed both hands on the hilt of his sword to show his seriousness. "Your move, sir," he challenged. "Are you going to do something about it, or, as I would prefer, you go back to your business of swilling rum?"

The pirate named Adder roared. He pocketed his dagger and pulled out his own cutlass instead. "I'll cut yer guts out and then tie ye wit 'em!" With another roar, he began to advance on Robin. As his blade came crashing down, Robin jumped out of the way in time and ran to the other side of the table. _Missed_, he wanted to say but also didn't want to provoke the murderous pirate even more. Robin looked to his side and took the bottle of rum the pirate next to him was holding before chucking it at Adder.

"Arr, ye bloody moron!" the pirate next to him exclaimed even as the bottle of rum shattered on the side of Adder's head. The other pirate grabbed Robin's arm and shook him hard. Robin reared his fist and hit the pirate square in the jaw. Like a signal, a whole tavern brawl suddenly broke out.

"I'll get ye, boy!" the pirate howled as he shook off the shards of glass from his hair. He charged after Robin and they locked weapons. Because this pirate was quite drunk, his movements were sluggish and his swings and parries were off, and this was the advantage that Robin took hold of gratefully as he dropped down and swung his leg behind the pirate's ankles, sending him crashing to the ground. An empty rum bottle rolled towards him, which Robin promptly picked up and smashed on the pirate's head, knocking him out.

Then suddenly, a rough hand grabbed Robin by his shoulder. He was hauled onto his feet and dragged out of the chaos. A high-pitched, heavily accented voice beside him told Robin that Zanka was also being pulled out of the bar and out into the streets by the same person. Once they were released, Robin spun around and came face to face with a portly man. This man with his greasy grey hair that was slicked back into a pony tail and a scratchy beard looked almost like the pirate version of a jolly Saint Nicolas. He was looking at Robin critically before a lopsided grin broke over his beard.

"I'll say it, boy. You've got the bravery and skill of ten men put together."

His words were reassuring enough and the kind, almost admiring, look he gave Robin did put him more at ease. "Who are you?" he asked curiously.

The man stood up straighter. "Joshamee Gibbs," he answered and stuck out a calloused hand which Robin took. "But like any other, I go by me surname."

"Oh well thank you for the compliment, um, Gibbs," Robin said.

Gibbs nodded heartily at the same time he pushed both Robin and Zanka out of the way as a horse-drawn carriage barreled down the street. "Aye, yer style reminds me of the pirate Emelia Kraven-"

At this point, Robin lowered his eyes, which was his inheritance from his mother.

"-but yer brashness could almost top Jack's," Gibbs chuckled.

Caught off guard by the sudden mention of his father's name, Robin's head snapped back up. "Do you know Jack Sparrow?" he asked eagerly.

Gibbs quickly clamped a hand over Robin's mouth. Motioning with a jerk of his head for them to follow him, Gibbs led Robin and Zanka into another but less rowdy bar. In a secluded spot, they all sat down; the boys sat on one side while Gibbs sat by himself on another.

"Why did we have to come here?" Robin demanded.

Gibbs glanced around only once before he leaned in closer. "Don't want to be saying that name out loud nowadays," he said in hushed tones.

"Why not?" Zanka said loudly.

This time both Robin and Gibbs told him to keep quiet.

Gibbs shook his head. "Jack Sparrow doesn't want to be found because the French have recently taken our _evil pirate ways_ as somethin' to scour from the seas. Hundreds of good men of fortune have been hunted down, tried, and hanged. Jack's been keepin' a low profile all these years," he explained grimly.

This explained so much more than Robin had imagined. It explained why Michael never had any information about the elusive Jack Sparrow to give to Emelia Kraven. "But _you_ happen to know where he is, right?" Robin pressed cautiously, careful to not anger this pirate who knows Captain Jack Sparrow.

Gibbs' grim features changed into something full of pride. "Aye, I happen to know that at this moment, Jack will be making port this afternoon to get more supplies 'fore taking off on another grand adventure. He's entrusted me to recruit a few men for the Black Pearl."

Robin waited with abated breath, not daring to believe what his ears were hearing. His heart stuck painfully in his throat.

"-and from the display I saw you taking on Adder back there, me thinks you're good enough to join Jack's crew." Gibbs gave Zanka a skeptical look though. "And if you don't cause any trouble, you can come too," he added sternly.

Zanka smiled widely and saluted to him. "Aye aye, sir," he said cheerfully.

Gibbs smiled as well and looked at the two boys. He spread out his hands. "Well, what do ye say to me offer, lads?" he inquired.

Heart soaring to new heights, Robin caught Zanka's eager eye and grins split their faces.

"Aye!"


	8. The Robin Meets the Sparrow

It was a great irony when, six years ago, a massive earthquake sent half of Port Royal into the deep sea only to be overrun by pirates as soon as it was over. The second best pirate haven. What an irony, indeed.

Jack Sparrow could only widely grin at the thought as he and his beloved Black Pearl magnificently sailed into the harbor. Who would have known that nearly fifteen years before, he had sailed here in only a small dinghy and had met Bootstrap Bill's son, William Turner, and his sweetheart, Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the then governor? And still nearly fifteen years when Jack narrowly escaped once more from becoming just another meal for the ravens had it not been for the same William Turner?

Jack's grin faded suddenly at that plural word: ravens. He eyed very old and mute Mr. Cotton standing hunchbacked in front of the great wooden steering wheel with his equally old and colorful parrot sitting on his right shoulder. It was a wonder to anyone on the Pearl why either Cotton or his parrot was still alive, but everyone still admired them. Jack wrinkled his nose and grunted. If he thought Cotton was very old, he couldn't begin to comprehend how growing older will affect him as being a pirate and sailor later on. Yet Jack wasn't one to worry too much on that. He knew, as he had shown many times before, that he was still at the top of his game.

_And form_, he couldn't help but think, and proudly at that. While older pirates might have all ready let themselves go by Jack's age, Jack still felt and looked as if he were still in his early twenties. Albeit, he did have a few grey hairs here and there and falling was more of a bother than before. Yet no woman could complain about these minor flaws.

Now Jack frowned. Yes, there had been other women, but none of them ever came as close to his guarded heart as _she_ did. His ringed hand twitched at his side, but there was no longer the familiar golden necklace hanging around his neck to hold. The memory of their last departure was still imprinted clearly in his mind, always haunting him in his dreams. Emeila Kraven was never far from his thoughts.

The last few years had been very hard on Jack, what with having to run away to avoid capture and all. Not once in the last thirteen years had he heard news about Emelia Kraven's fate, and deep inside, this worried him most of all.

"_Rawk!_ Land ho!"

Jack jumped in surprise and looked at the parrot. "Thank you, erm, Cotton's parrot," Jack gruffly said. He straightened his coat and cleared his throat. "All hands to their stations!" he yelled. "Prepare to dock!" Jack couldn't wait to get Joshamee Gibbs back on board his ship. All this yelling was making him sound hoarse.

After the ship was docked into the harbor and the men given their orders, Jack waltzed into town. Well-known prostitutes greeted him warmly, and fellow men of fortune tipped their hats at him as he passed. Jack smirked as he swaggered into a local bar. As his usual routine, Jack immediately ordered a large tankard of rum before he went around the bar, asking surreptitiously of any news on Emelia Kraven.

Like always, there were none.

"Alright-y lads, step lively now. The captain doesn't like to be kept waiting," Gibbs said over his shoulder as he hurriedly led the winding way towards the docks. "C'mon, c'mon! Don't wanna keep Jack waiting."

This last part he muttered to himself, but Robin heard it loud and clear and began to walk faster. Excitement bubbled in his gut and threatened to fill over. A wide grin spread across his dry, cracked lips. They stopped near the last of the loading docks in front of a ship that seemed to dwarf all the fishing boats bobbing around it.

"Here be the Black Pearl," Gibbs said proudly and opened his arms out.

Robin's grin instantly dropped and his heart sank as he beheld the ship in front of them. Yes, the ship was gigantic and majestic-looking from afar, but with a longer and closer look, Robin could plainly see some major flaws from the stories his mother use to tell him about his father's prized possession.

"Where are the black sails?" Robin asked aloud. He almost sounded accusing. The black sails that marked the Pearl from the rest were gone, replaced by yellowing canvases that badly needed patching up.

Gibbs shook his head and turned to the boy. "Lad, do you think Jack Sparrow is stupid to come into _any_ port being recognizable like that?" he asked seriously.

Robin instantly felt embarrassed. "Of course not," he muttered. How dense was he? Of course Jack Sparrow would have to keep his ship and himself unrecognizable against pirate hunters. His face burned.

Gibbs patted Robin on his shoulder sympathetically. "It's alright, lad. I understand," he said reassuringly. He gestured to the plank leading up to the ship. "I'll quickly introduce you to the captain, and we'll see what jobs could be given to the two o' you," he said over his shoulder as he began to lead them once more.

Once they stepped onto the main deck, Gibbs was immediately merrily hailed by various members of the crew. The first mate lifted an arm and waved to them. "Ahoy maties, where be Jack?" he called as he and the two boys stopped just in front of the main mast.

A dwarf of a man with a shiny bald head and a small goatee walked up to them from the longboat he had been helping to tie down. He looked up at them with round, cloudy-blue eyes. "Ahoy, Mr. Gibbs," he greeted the first mate with a grin. His tone was a mix between raspy and squeaky, a comical sound.

"Ahoy, Marty. Good to be seeing you again," Gibbs replied. He repeated his question to the dwarf pirate.

Marty lifted a hand and pointed above them. "The captain's aloft," he replied.

As if on cue, all four of them heard a rough voice yell from above, "Good to see ye back in one piece, Mr. Gibbs!"

Robin, like everyone else, looked up along the main mast. When he spotted the infamous captain of the Black Pearl standing amongst the riggings and sails of the ship, his gut did a sort of excited flop. His father, Jack Sparrow, was looking down at their little group. Seeing him in the flesh was so much better than any story his mother had ever told him about this legendary pirate. The gold necklace and pendant around Robin's neck seemed to burn his flesh underneath his shirt as he gazed up admiringly at his father. Jack Sparrow seemed to be everything of what Robin always imagined him and more.

Robin now noticed that in Jack's hands was a coiled rope with on end tied to the main mast which Robin assumed his father was tying down the sails with. However, Robin was very wrong as Jack Sparrow threw the rope down, and then they all watched as he took the rope firmly with his hands. With a great leap, that made both Robin and Zanka gasp from shock, Jack sailed down the rope until he safely touched down the main deck right in the center of their little group. The two boys looked at each other for a moment before they broke out into applause.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Zanka exclaimed.

Jack turned on them, swept off his leather tricorn hat, and bowed. "Pleasure was all mine," Jack said proudly as he stood back straight and put his hat back on. He grinned widely again. This time, the boys could plainly see the few gold teeth in his mouth.

"So these are our new recruits, eh?" Jack said out loud as he first examined the tall Negro standing next to Gibbs. "What's your name, boy?" Jack demanded, taking on his commanding demeanor immediately.

Zanka saluted to him and puffed out his chest. "Me name be Zanka, Zanka Coffei, suh," he exclaimed loudly.

Jack took one step back and nodded crisply. "Welcome to the Black Pearl, Mr. Coffei." Jack gave Zanka a critical look before adding, "We've needed a new cook for a while now." He moved on to the second boy, not taking notice of the scandalized look Zanka gave him. When Jack looked into the eyes of this next boy, who looked much younger than the first, Jack felt as if he had been electrocuted. Those dark brown eyes staring nervously back at his were so familiar. Jack rocked back on his heels to get a better look at this boy's face. "You look very familiar," Jack concluded. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Have I ever threatened you before?"

Robin blinked. It took all his willpower to not look away from those hypnotic eyes. His mother had been definitely right about that fact. "I don't think so, sir," Robin replied steadily. His insides were screaming at him to tell this man that he was his son.

Jack leaned forward again until their faces were inches apart. Robin could now see every line, every wrinkle, and smell every odor in his father. If Robin hadn't already been used to these strong smells of mingled sweat, salt water, and musk, then he would have recoiled away.

Jack smiled suddenly. Although this boy looked as if he had a decent life before now, he proved he wasn't easily intimidated by him. Jack straightened up. "What's your name, lad?" he asked.

"Robin," he replied.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And yer last name?"

Robin shifted his eyes away now. "I have none," he muttered and blushed.

Jack took this all as embarrassment and shame. He nodded slightly and cleared his throat. "There's much work to be done around this ship," he said, proud of that fact. "It'll be nice to have a cabin boy fer once."

Robin now looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes. "Cabin boy?" he exclaimed.

Jack was taken aback. "What? Did ye think I'd let someone as young as you are be anythin' else?" he countered.

Robin only gaped at him like a fish out of water.

Jack smirked. "Thought so," he said.

"Captain."

"Ah," Jack exclaimed happily. He waved a ringed finger under Robin's nose. "I'd like ye to meet some friends of mine, Mr. Robin." Jack turned around and took the bucket and mop from Marty and pushed them into Robin. "Meet Mr. Mop and Mrs. Bucket!"

Robin held these two items with dislike written all over his face. "Yippee," he said flatly.

"Now get to work immediately. We set sail any moment now," Jack said amid his chuckles. He turned to Gibbs. "Jolly to have me first mate back. Please escort Mr. Coffei 'ere to the galley to start preparing dinner. Then come back up to meet me at the helm," he ordered.

Gibbs nodded with a smile. "Aye, captain," he said before gesturing for Zanka to follow him.

Zanka looked at Robin for a moment. "Latah, mon," he said before leaving Robin with his father.

Robin turned to Jack, now feeling his stomach squirm uncomfortably. They were by themselves now. It was now or never. "So, um-" he began, but Jack quickly cut him off.

"Get to work swabbing the decks now, lad. We set sail very soon, and I want this whole deck plus the helm spotless 'fore dinner," Jack told him sternly before he left Robin by himself.

* * *

The Black Pearl was still magnificent as ever. From the looks of it, the crew had just fixed on its signature black sails right now.

Where the city ended and the docks began, Michael Turnbull was mixed with wanting to stand and admire this grand ship (which he hadn't seen in a long time) and wanting to immediately tear it apart plank by plank in search for its two stowaways. He was very sure that Robin and Zanka were on the ship, right from the moment he heard tell that Jack was in town.

Now that he watched longer, he noticed that the activity around the ship was more rushed and chaotic. His sky blue eyes widened in realization, especially as the port anchor on the left side of the ship was being anchored in. The ship was taking off! Michael began to run.

"No!" he yelled. "Stop! Stop that ship!"

He was too late. When he finally got to the loading dock, the Pearl was all ready the size of a boulder, setting off towards the horizon.

Michael's hands hung limply at his sides. "Oh bugger," he muttered.

* * *

"Mr. Robin! I didn't keep you on me ship just for you to laze around! Mop those floorboards!" Jack shouted from the helm.

Robin shook his head slightly as if waking from a dream and stepped away from the port side. He had thought, as they were setting out, that he heard Michael's voice from the harbor. Robin put those thoughts away as he grudgingly took up the mop and began his duty. The first two hours were grueling. He had to be careful not to get into any of the crewmen's way or slip from the spots he had all ready cleaned. The former happened many more times than the latter.

"Arr! Watch where ye be goin', ye one-eyed cretin!" a rather thin pirate growled when Robin accidentally bumped into his back. The pirate swung around and Robin was met with a very familiar pair of dangerous yellowed eyes framed by a curtain of grey stringy hair. "_You!_" the pirate Adder shouted and pointed a skeletal dirty finger at Robin as he quickly backed away.

The mop dropped noiselessly to the ground.

Adder began to advance on Robin. Simultaneously, the pair pulled out their cutlasses and pointed them to the other as their fellow crewmembers around them stopped working and watched with either glee or concern.

"I'll cut ye from the knave to the chops, _cabin boy_!" Adder sneered as they began to slowly circle.

Robin stumbled over the bucket. His face burned as the men and Adder laughed at him. He quickly righted himself.

"Poor little bird," Adder jeered. "Fell outta 'is nest!" He swung his blade, but to all the onlookers' amazement, Robin blocked him and began to fight back. Unlike their audience, Adder all ready knew to an extent that this was no novice and began to parry and counterattack. However, it was very clear to everyone that Robin was very skilled. Despite his minor display with the bucket and his young looks, he was fighting as if he were a much older man.

When the men realized this, many of them began to cheer him on.

"Alrigh' laddie!"

"Ye get 'is bloody arse!"

"Give up?" Robin yelled over the noise as he swiftly spun away from Adder's oncoming onslaught.

Adder merely gritted his teeth in frustration and began fighting more aggressively. Robin stumbled over the bucket again, and this time, he slipped upon the spilled water. He hit the ground with a resounding thud that took the breath out of his lungs. His vision became blurry for only a moment. When it cleared, he was faced with the sharp point of Adder's cutlass and the pirate himself bearing menacingly down with him unarmed. It was as if someone had turned off the sound. He couldn't hear the crowd of pirates anymore; only Adder's haggard laugh reached his ears and then his voice. "I'm goin' to put ye outta yer misery," Adder growled and raised his blade.

Robin swiveled his head around until he found the hilt of his cutlass staring back at him on his left side. It was under someone's boot. Just as Adder was about to bring his blade crashing down on him, Robin grabbed his cutlass, yanked it from under the pirate's boot, and held it up in the air horizontally even as the pirate fell backwards. Their blades clanged loudly.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle noise blasted throughout the deck, washing away all the noises. When the whistling died away, one voice remained.

"So this is what I get by trustin' all o' you slimy dogs to do yer work?"

The men nearest to the helm made a pathway for Jack Sparrow as he slowly walked towards the fighting pair with his pistol pointed at them.

Adder immediately jumped off of Robin and exclaimed, "The cabin boy started it, cap'n."

Jack stopped in between Adder and Robin. He pointed his pistol at Adder's gut and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Mr. Adder, are you willingly confessing that a small boy purposefully insinuated a quarrel with a great, yet stick-like, brute like you on me deck?"

"I didn't!" yelled Robin amidst the laughter of the crewmen. He began to sit up, but Jack quickly put his boot on Robin's chest and pressed him back down on the deck. Robin blinked at the boot for a moment in confusion before he turned angry eyes on his father staring back at him.

"Don't want to be moving, lad. Ye might've injured yerself from that fall," Jack tersely told him. The look in his glinting eyes clearly warned Robin not to disobey him. Jack turned his head back to Adder. "And Mr. Adder," he continued, "Are you also tellin' me that you, a more experienced man of fortune filled with more wisdom than a small whelp, allowed yerself to engage in a brawl - when you already_ know_ that brawlin' on me ship is forbidden - by said whelp?"

Adder blinked stupidly at Jack, having not caught every word his captain had quickly uttered. Jack rolled his eyes and poked the end of his pistol in Adder's stomach to get his full attention again. He removed his boot from Robin and took a step closer to Adder so that their faces were only inches apart. "Let me put this as easily so that your peanut-brained head could comprehend," Jack said eloquently. "No fighting on me ship! The next time I catch you in a brawl or any other trouble on this trip, I'll send ye off to Tortuga and leave ye there! Savvy?"

Adder looked at Robin for only a moment, a dangerous glint in his eye, before he nodded. "Aye, cap'n," he muttered sullenly.

Jack stepped away from him and looked around. "Now what are ye all lookin' at? The entertainment's over! Get back to your jobs!" he yelled. Immediately, everyone began to clear the area. As men jostled back to their stations, Jack put away his pistol and turned to Robin, who still laid there on the deck. With a heavy sigh and rolled eyes, Jack leaned down, grabbed Robin by the arm, and helped him up.

It was when he was securely righted did Robin remember his voice. "Th-Thank you," he said hesitantly. Jack turned away from him and leaned on the side of the ship, looking out into the water with a contemplative look. Robin thought Jack had completely forgotten about him. He was about to walk away when Jack finally spoke.

"Remarkable skill you have, Master Robin."

Robin stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?"

An annoyed look passed over Jack's features. "Isn't anyone listening to me today?" he muttered underneath his breath. He turned his head to Robin. "I said that you have remarkable skill," he repeated. When he saw that the young boy was taken aback, Jack cracked a small grin. "I said it was remarkable, but not something to awe about," he added.

The smile that had threatened to burst out from Robin quickly died when his father said those words. "Oh," he said. "I learned from my mother how to fight," he couldn't help saying. Somehow, saying this out loud reminded Robin that he came from a family of skilled fighters. He felt pride well up in his chest. "And she was the best fighter I knew."

Jack lifted his head in curiosity. He turned around so that he fully faced Robin but still leaned on the railing. "Is that so?" he said. After a moment, he suddenly asked, "And how did ye come by Port Royal, boy?"

Robin shifted nervously, preparing the first of many lies. "I ran away from home with Zanka," he said quietly as he averted his eyes.

Jack scrutinized the boy. He knew that he had no right to ask why he ran away. The boy didn't look like much, but appearances were always deceiving. From up at the helm where he saw part of the fight, Jack knew right away that this boy had the potential to be a great fighter. Indeed, he was already on his way.

And yet. . . .

"Didn't yer father ever teach you to pick yer battles better?" Jack asked him, this time with a little annoyance in his tone.

Robin walked towards the railing and leaned on it too. Jack also turned around to face the sea. As he looked at this boy, for a moment, Jack almost thought he could see something very familiar with him.

"My father left us."

Jack started out of his thoughts. "Pardon?"

Robin kept his eyes determinedly on the waves the ship passed. "My father. He left while my mum was with child; with me. He never came back," he finished with a cracked tone. It was mainly true. Robin blinked away the tears rimming his eyes. This, being right next to the said father and yet very afraid of telling him the truth, was almost too much for Robin. He pushed off the railing, turned his back on Jack, and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. He could feel the old map in his left pocket, reminding him of his main purpose of being away from home. Over his shoulder he said in tone that made him sound as if he didn't care (when in fact he did), "It's alright, though. I turned out just fine."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" Jack also pushed away from the railing. He grabbed Robin's shoulder and made him turn around to face him. "Well, from recent events, I've made me decision abou' you, boy," he said authoritatively.

"What decision?" Robin asked curiously.

Jack smirked mischievously. "I've decided that to keep you out of anymore trouble, I'm takin' you under me wing and teachin' you the lessons yer father never did."

"Wait, what?" Robin exclaimed. "No, wait-"

Jack clapped him hard on his shoulder. "You won't so much as eat, work, or think without me notice, Mr. Robin. You can be sure about that!" Jack said cheerfully. Jack soon left after this declaration, leaving Robin with a feeling of foreboding rather than excitement.


	9. Pride and Skill

As Robin had predicted, this new chapter of his adventure was almost anything but fun and exciting. Captain Jack Sparrow had been serious when he had told Robin he was taking the young boy under his wing. If Robin had thought before that being cabin boy to Michael was hard, being cabin boy to someone as demanding and prone to erratically give random orders as Jack Sparrow did was harsh. Jack made Michael seem like a blind old man who was slightly deaf in the ears.

As Jack had promised Robin from that night, he was keeping a very close watch over the boy by various but hard-laboring chores all around the ship. Robin rarely had time to even see Zanka down in the galley.

"I can't believe this," Robin fumed as he paced the narrow length between the wooden benches the crew ate on at dinner. He ran his fingers through his untidy hair and got them stuck in the clumps.

Zanka pursed his lips in an effort to not laugh at his best friend as he struggled to pull free his fingers without ripping out chunks of his hair. He sat complacently on the countertop peeling a potato. The cook had momentarily gone to the cargo hold to retrieve something he and his new assistant needed for the night's dinner. Zanka waved the half-peeled spud at Robin as he once more drew nearer to the Jamaican.

"Wot didya expect, bradda?" he questioned Robin. "It's not dat easy to tell a fadda who don't know he's a fadda," he added wisely.

Robin made a derisive noise in the back of his throat. "Of course it's not easy!" he sputtered and threw up his freed hands in frustration. "But I didn't know I'd end up lying to my father! Then there's that one stupid pirate Adder who's made it his personal task to get me in constant trouble since that day we fought on the deck."

"But ya aren't lyin' to ya fadda," Zanka pointed out the truth. "Ya really _did _run away from home, and he _did _leave yuh madda while she was wit ya. And wit Addah - that be yuh own fault."

Robin rolled his eyes. He didn't think reminding Zanka that it was because of him that Adder was angered at Robin in the first place would make a difference. Yet Robin should have. "_Thank_ you, Zanka," he sarcastically drawled before resuming his pacing.

Later, when Robin was forced to return to Jack Sparrow, he was reminded for two reasons why he was frustrated in the first place. Increasingly, Robin was becoming frustrated with his father. Aside from those rare moments when he could slip off to visit Zanka, every minute of Robin's waking hours was monitored carefully by the eccentric captain. Sometimes, Robin barely even had time to pause and think about anything other than the task at hand. Then there was his other reason for his frustration that did tie in with what he had told Jack on that first day.

Robin was afraid that Jack would one day wonder and then ask as to why Robin had run away from home. From the impression (and he was painfully aware of his impression) he had given Jack, he seemed better off back home. It was Robin's hope that Jack thought that Robin ran away merely to find his father which was part of Robin's original plan anyway. However, Robin's fear was the truth. He was afraid of telling Jack Sparrow that he had a son to his lover Emelia Kraven; that Robin was his son. Robin was afraid even more of Jack's reaction to finding out everything. Sometimes if Robin wasn't too tired, he'd lay awake in his hammock and envision all the possible reactions his father would make when he would confess everything to him. It was all in due time, or in Mr. Gibbs' words had he known Robin's predicament, "It's all in God's hands."

"Ah, Master Robin. Kind of you to rejoin me at the helm," Jack called from behind the great wooden steering wheel as Robin took the stairs leading to the helm two at a time. There was a thick layer of sarcasm in Jack's words that made Robin wince.

"Sorry captain," Robin apologized quickly as he halted right beside his father. "There was a slight hold up with Mr. Adder," he lied. However, remembering all the other real times Adder really had "held up" Robin must have crept into his voice because Jack quickly glanced sideways at him for a moment before returning his attention to the bow of the ship.

"I see," murmured Jack. Abruptly, he regained his gruffness when he said, "I have a new task for you."

"Oh?" This was said without much enthusiasm or interest.

"Your new task is to take over Marty's watch in the crow's nest at night until the next time we make port."

"What?" spluttered Robin in disbelief. "Captain, that's not fair! It's getting colder every-"

Jack pierced the young boy with a look so shrewd that Robin immediately fell silent under its intensity. "Not fair, eh? So you rather have poor, bald Marty have to endure more cold and sleepless nights because you don't have the fortitude to watch a ship?" he demanded. Jack smiled ruefully.

Robin looked sullenly back at him, feeling his face burn in guilt and embarrassment. "No captain," he dully conceded. "My apologies."

Jack curtly nodded. "Good." He turned to his other side, where his first mate Gibbs had suddenly appeared. "Ah, good timing Mr. Gibbs," Jack exclaimed, the previous discussion with Robin forgotten in his whole demeanor. "I need you to man the helm for a moment while I go to my quarters to drink some rum - I mean," Jack quickly backtracked, "I mean, to look over the maps."

Gibbs suppressed the smile wanting to burst over his graying beard as he nodded. "Aye, captain," he said.

Jack clapped Gibbs companionably on the shoulder before he headed for the stairs. As he passed Robin still standing where he had left him, Jack paused for a moment at the top step and looked at the boy. He noticed that Robin was staring off into the distance with a faraway look in his dark brown eyes. Those same dark brown eyes that sometimes made Jack think of Emelia Kraven. He didn't know why, but it was comforting in a way.

"Master Robin."

Robin tore his eyes away from the distant horizon and turned his head to where his name was called. His father's glittering eyes met his mother's eyes. "Yes?" Robin asked cautiously, wondering if he was about to receive even more work.

Jack tilted his head jauntily to the side. "I still expect you to report to me this evening for your sword lessons," he said.

Robin nodded as a smile very slowly spread across his boyish face. "Aye, aye captain," he said, feeling slightly happier. Since that day Jack discovered Robin's talent with the cutlass, he had also taken it upon himself to show Robin how to properly use a cutlass where his mother had not.

When Jack had gone, Gibbs seized the moment to remark aloud, "Jack must really like you, lad."

Robin's ears perked up almost excitedly. "Do you think so?" he asked hopefully but still with an amount of calmness as he turned to his father's old friend.

Gibbs shook his head in the affirmative and laughed at this boy's obvious eagerness. "Oh yes, he likes ye. Never seen him give up sleep or a chance to down a bottle of rum or two just to show a lad a few skills of the sword," he remarked.

Robin's heart swelled with pride. He couldn't help the great smile that burst forth on his lips like the morning sun. He carried this smile for the rest of the day, and even when he met his father that night on the main deck with his cutlass in his hand, he still had the smile.

Jack looked at Robin weirdly and looked over his shoulder to see if there was an answer to the boy's smile. "Master Robin, would you mind not smiling like that? It's slightly alarming," Jack said.

"Oh, sorry." Robin quickly lifted his cutlass in a defensive position. "I'm ready," he said. They began to slowly circle each other, but before Robin could come up with an opening, Jack suddenly stopped pacing. "What's wrong?" Robin asked confusedly as he, too, followed suit.

"You're footing's not there, lad," Jack told him.

Robin flushed. "Oh. Well, I never really had a chance to train on a ship," he mumbled.

Jack nodded understandably. "Workable," he only said. "Now watch my footsteps." He stepped to the left. "If I step here, then you step there." He indicated to Robin's right, and when the boy did as he was told, Jack nodded approvingly. "Now if I were to take a step towards you," he did so, and Robin instinctively took a step back, sword raised defensively. Jack met his blade with a loud clang that reverberated throughout the silent deck. The pirate smiled. "Very good. You're a natural at this."

Robin's previous embarrassment instantly evaporated. It was very hard not to break into another large smile as he and Jack began to slowly go over some more steps. The steps progressed with contacts between their cutlasses until they were parrying one another.

"You're not half bad," Jack admitted halfway into the night as the end of his blade became embedded into the thick wood of the main mast.

Robin jumped and quickly moved so that he was positioned right behind Jack. He went to disarm his father, but the pirate quickly pulled out his pistol and pointed it at him. Robin blinked. "You cheated!" he exclaimed.

Jack smirked. "Pirate," he only said. With a mighty tug, he freed his cutlass. "Yet another lesson: always be prepared for the unthinkable."

"Especially around you," Robin muttered underneath his breath as he watched Jack stow his firearm back on his wide leather belt.

Once more they began to parry. Robin surprised Jack a few times by using various parts of the ship as escape routes from tough spots at the end of his blade. Yet what really stunned Jack was the realization farther down the passage of time that the young boy was gaining some advantage of footing on the seasoned pirate. Soon, Robin was forcing Jack towards the side of the ship.

"Seems the apprentice has surpassed the master," cockily commented Robin.

"Oh really?"

Jack swung his cutlass widely around, forcing the boy to jump back to avoid the sharp blade. This gave Jack the chance to jump back and onto the wide railing of the ship. As Robin advanced forward, Jack bent his knees and jumped high off the railing with a front flip over the boy who was so astonished that all he could do was follow the movement with a wide open mouth until he realized that Jack had unarmed him with an easy swipe of his cutlass.

"Always keep your guard up," Jack told him as he lowered his sword.

"Yeah, sorry," Robin apologized as he picked up his fallen weapon. "But that was amazing! I've never seen anything like that from my mother!"

Jack grinned as he swept off tricorn hat in a bow. "Takes skill, both natural and cultivated - both of which I have a lot of," he said unabashedly. As he straightened, he patted Robin on the head almost with affection. "I'm proud of your own improved skill, son," he told the boy. Jack was taken by surprised when Robin suddenly lurched forward and threw his arms around Jack's waist. Jack stiffened, looking from left to right uncertainly, before he awkwardly patted the boy on his dark head.

Robin quickly let go and spun around so that he could hide the tears that were sparkling in his dark brown eyes. "Thanks," he said with a surprisingly strong voice. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Jack looked at Robin oddly for a moment before he decided to let that pass. Of course the boy would feel strongly considering he never had a father figure. Jack cleared his throat to bring his and Robin's attentions back to him. "I'm still ordering you to take the night watch. I don't want to come up here tomorrow morning and see that you only slept the night away," he said sternly in an effort to regain some composure of command as captain.

Robin turned around with the assurance that he didn't look emotional as he felt a few moments ago. He saluted to his father. "I won't let you down, captain," he promised. Robin watched as his father nodded and then disappeared into his quarters. Robin tied his cutlass onto his waist before he scaled the main mast to the crow's nest. For a few hours, he had the replay of tonight's sword lesson and his father's words to keep him preoccupied and awake. Robin could overlook the many tasks as cabin boy that his father had ever given him. They were all worth being told personally by Jack that he was proud of him. However, unknowingly, Robin's eyelids began to get heavier and droop until he was sound asleep and completely unaware that above him, dark clouds were gathering over the Black Pearl.


	10. The Storm before the Shock

For a short while, Robin dreamt that he was on a ship that was in the midst of a great storm. He was standing all alone on the main deck. Every time he tried to call out for help, a gigantic wave would crash into the ship, sending him violently sprawling on the cold ground. Rain poured down hard like drops of bullets onto his drenched body. It soon became harder to get back on his feet. High above among the dark ominous clouds, flocks of sparrows hovered around the ship's torn sails, mocking Robin with their high-pitched cries.

A loud clap of thunder woke Robin up to the real danger he and the Pearl were in.

The Black Pearl really was in a storm; one as violent as the storm in his dream. Was his dream a vision of the future? Robin quickly looked up at the sails but didn't see any sparrows flying over him. Shaking his waterlogged head, Robin hurriedly got to his feet, ignoring the rising panic inside of him.

Though unsteady on his cramped legs, Robin carefully lowered himself onto the soaked rope ladder. He began to slowly descend. Almost a third of the way down, the Pearl began to suddenly teeter back and forth like a cradle. Robin cried out fearfully as the right side of his body flung away from the ladder. Had his left wrist not gotten tangled up with the rope, he would have plummeted to his death. But no, the searing pain pulsing through his left arm assured Robin that he was still alive and hanging on the ladder by a thread of luck. With fierce determination, Robin gritted his teeth and slowly swung his body securely back onto the soaked rope ladder before closing the huge gap between him and the main deck.

Just as he jumped off the rope ladder, a wave struck the right side of the ship and sent it careening off to the other side. Robin cried out again as he fell onto his back and rolled like a barrel until his left side hit a tied longboat, stopping his completely. Robin groaned and rapidly blinked away the white spots popping into his vision. His left wrist seemed to be the source that was pumping more pain throughout his body. Far off, Robin saw a ball of light bobbing to and fro like some naughty fairy. It seemed to be getting closer. He reached out to it with his right hand and smiled crookedly at it until the light was directly above him.

"Are you alrigh', Robin?"

Robin closed his eyes and stubbornly shook his head in the affirmative. "I'm okay captain," he said, but his voice sounded feeble against the howl of the wind.

Jack rolled his eyes and muttered a stream of curses that ended with "bloody hell." Whatever the boy denied, it showed clearly on his body. Jack hung his lantern off the nearest hook and bent low over Robin. With ease, Jack pulled his cabin boy to his feet and slung his left arm over his wide shoulder.

"My wrist!" Robin hissed as he felt Jack's rings cut into his injured wrist. He felt the pirate's grip lessen as Robin forced himself back into the right state of mind.

"Do you think you could walk?" Jack yelled over the din of the storm. A flash of thunder illuminated the boy's face, and it looked ghastly pale to him.

Robin shrugged off of Jack and stared determinedly up at him. "I said I was fine," he shouted.  
Jack nodded as he retrieved his lantern. "Then go and wake up the rest of the bloody crew!" he ordered. "How they could sleep in this ruckus is beyond me!"

"Aye, captain!" Robin yelled before he turned away and ran towards the hatch. He stumbled down the winding stairs until he burst into the crew's quarters. "_WAKE UP! WAKE UP!_" Robin hollered. He ran to each man nearest to him and threw them off of their hammocks.

"What's the meaning of this, Mr. Rob-_ahh_!" Gibbs yelled as he too was thrown out of his hammock. Yet Gibbs' answer came in the form of a drum-like roll of thunder that seemed to shake the entire ship.

Chaos instantaneously began to wash over the men as everyone made a mad scramble to throw on their clothes and boots and then report to the main deck.

"All ye lazy, one-eyed sea slugs tie in yer bloody lifelines! We're in for a rough night!" Jack ordered.

"You heard the captain, boys! Tie in those lifelines!" Gibbs echoed as he ran up the stairs leading to the helm at the same time he himself was tying his lifeline around his thick waist.

"Robin!" Jack called from the helm as he caught sight of the boy emerging from the hatch. Once Jack attracted Robin's attention, he ordered the cabin boy to make sure all lifelines were secure.

Saluting, Robin first moved towards Zanka who seemed to be trembling so much that the end of his lifeline that he was trying to tie around his waist kept slipping from his hands. "Come one, Zanka! It's just like tying down a bloody boat back in Bridgetown's harbor!" Robin coaxed as he tied the rope securely around Zanka's waist

"Which I never did, bradda!" Zanka yelled before Robin ran to all three masts were the other ends of the lifelines were being tied to. With deft speed that moments of danger and panic could only provide, Robin moved methodically to each rope, pulling at or retying any that were too loose. As he was halfway finished with the knots on the main mast, he felt a presence behind him.

"Get outta me way, runt!" Adder's voice ominously shouted down at him.

Before Robin had the chance to get out of the pirate's way, he was taken by the arms and bodily flung into the side of a longboat. Robin felt the longboat crack from beneath him as his body connected with the hard wood. His very breath slammed out of his lungs. Hot liquid slowly tickled down the side of his face. Robin began to cough uncontrollably as he slid down the side of the boat.

And then, the ship careened once more to the side. Down below, the cords holding down the heavy cannons strained mightily under the weight until one by one, they all snapped, sending the cannons rolling to the leaning side of the ship.

Robin was only vaguely aware of the cries and shouts of alarm from the crewmen as the Pearl tilted so hazardously on the side opposite of which Robin lay at. The Pearl was in danger of completely turning over. Robin barely registered his father ordering all the crewmen to run to the side of the ship where Robin laid to counter the weight of the cannons.

"Bradda, wot be ya doin' down dere?!" Zanka screamed as he grabbed onto his best friend's collar before he could slip away. With his other hand, Zanka grabbed onto the railing. His eyes widened in horror as he beheld the thick line of blood running down the side of Robin's head.

"Zanka?" Robin said groggily.

"Hold on, bradda. We'll get ya outta here!" Zanka promised as he tightened his grip on Robin's collar. "Just stay awake!" The blood was coming from a gash just below his temple, and if Robin were to fall asleep, he might never wake up again.

"Wake me up in five minutes," Robin slurred as his eyelids began to droop despite Zanka's protests.

Just then, another great wave hit the ship. Robin was dislodged from Zanka's grip. Amidst Zanka's yells, Robin slid across the deck and then tumbled into the tumultuous waters.

"MAN OVERBOARD!!" Gibbs howled as the ship finally righted itself.

Jack's hand dove into his coat and extracted his telescope. He pointed it towards the spot where Gibbs was pointing towards. Jack's heart leaped with surprise as he barely caught sight of Robin's head bobbing up and down amongst the waves. "What are ye all stupidly lookin' at?" Jack yelled at the men watching in amazement along the railing. "Haul 'im back on board, ye bilge-sucking fiends!"

"Heave to, men!" Gibbs shouted harshly. He started towards the stairs but was pushed back as Jack zoomed past him, arms flailing.

Robin was caught between wanting to struggle for his life and wanting to just close his eyes and sleep between the waves. Yet the latter seemed impossible as wave after wave crashed over his head and sent him tumbling further from the Pearl. Robin opened his mouth to call for help but only succeeded in partly filling his lungs with salty seawater. Suddenly, he was dunked entirely into the icy water. The only thing he could see now were many bubbles caused by his vain attempts to reach back to the top. It was then, between his fight for survival and his half-delirium, that he saw her.

Not knowing whether this was a hallucination or not, but still shocked at what his eyes were looking upon, Robin stopped moving his limbs and merely watched as she swam around him. As the bubbles disappeared, his vision of her became clearer. She had a long, scaly blue tail that made the water around him pulse with each careless flick. A mermaid! As she drew nearer to him with no sign of fear on her face, Robin could now discern her seaweed-green eyes amid long, dark eyelashes. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the water despite a raging storm above them. Now Robin was sure this was a hallucination. Or was she here to take him to Davy Jones' locker? This last thought panicked Robin and he began to thrash away from her.

Then, all of a sudden, the rope still tied around his mid-riff jerked him back, away from the mermaid even as she smiled coyly at him and waved goodbye with her tail. The next thing Robin knew, he was lying on the deck of the Black Pearl, coughing up both water and blood. He felt as if he was a newborn, weak and frail as he stared up at two familiar faces. "Zanka? G-Gibbs?" he croaked.

"Hang on, lad. We'll get you warm soon," Gibbs assured the shivering boy. What he failed to mention was the physical state Robin was in. Blood still poured from the gash on his head. He seemed to have also mangled his left wrist. Gibbs ordered Zanka to untie the rope from around Robin's waist.

"How is he, Mr. Gibbs?" Jack inquired as he drew nearer with a lantern in hand. All around this little group, the rest of the men were attending to the rest of the ship. Yet to these four, they seemed like the only ones on the ship. Seeing the blue around the edges of the boy's lips, Jack immediately shrugged off his coat and placed it around Robin's body. After a long pause, Jack also placed his hat on Robin's head, over the gash, for good measure.

Gibbs looked across the boy at his captain curiously at first but then it was replaced with a grave face. "There's a chance that he'll be all right. It's clear he's lost a lot o' blood, Jack. We have to get him out o' this filthy weather immediately and clean up that wound on his head 'fore it gets infected."

Jack nodded. He looked down at Robin and saw that the boy's pain-stricken dark brown eyes were already looking at him. For an unknown reason, Jack's heart went to the boy. "Yer gonna be fine, son," Jack assured him.

Robin cracked a very small smile for the first time since they were last face to face. "That's good to hear," he muttered before he passed out.

* * *

When Robin awoke, he was laying snuggly in a hammock that hung very close to a wall. Robin was no longer outside in the storm but in what looked like a cabin. His first instinct was to sit up, but when he tried, he found that pain shot through his body like electricity.

"I wouldn't try that again," a gruff voice called from somewhere behind him.

Robin watched as Jack Sparrow drew into his line of vision. In his hands was a full bottle of rum. "Whaz that for?" Robin's voice came out raspy and almost feeble.

Jack smiled wryly. "Well, it's clearly not to clean the multiple wounds you sustained out there," he said. "I'm merely going to drink it and watch you moan and groan until your cuts start to ooze over with pus."

Robin began to laugh but it quickly turned into a groan. "I feel as if a carriage just ran over me with full force from behind," he wheezed. He reached towards his head where a blinding headache was starting to form. His fingers brushed a bandage wound loosely around his head.

"We did find a giant bruise on yer back," Jack told him. "What happened there?"

Robin grimaced, wondering whether Jack was asking about his head or his back and how much he should actually say. "I fell," he ended up saying.

Jack raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You fell?" he repeated. "On your head?" Jack shook his head as he popped the cork. The wonders of falling, he thought sarcastically. He had no doubt that Robin did more than fall to receive a gash like that, but no matter. What did Jack care?

Robin eyed the bottle warily as its open top moved to Jack's lips. His mother had on multiple occasions used alcohol to clean his more serious wounds, but that fact still didn't help to mollify Robin from the pain the alcohol always created.

Jack picked up a clean piece of bandage off of his writing desk and soaked it with rum. When he turned to Robin, he noticed the look the young boy was trying to hide from him. The corner's of Jack's lips quirked slightly between disgust and amusement. "Don't be such a woman," he reprimanded. "We're starting with that gash on yer head."

So Robin gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes tightly shut as Jack bent over him and first unwound the bandage. Gibbs had done quite a good job in cleaning the blood that had caked over the gash, but as Jack observed after he threw away the soiled bandage, yellowish pus was starting to pour from the said wound. After wetting the cloth again, Jack took a large swig before he began to labor over Robin's wound. And labor Jack did. Robin fidgeted under the cloth so that Jack nearly had to hit him to keep him still.

"You are the worst patient ever," Jack muttered darkly as he threw the cloth away and then took another swig of rum. He passed it over to Robin who promptly took a drink. Jack quickly took the bottle away before he could drain it all. "We still need that."

Robin looked up at him with horror written all over his face. "For _what_?" he yelped.

Jack nodded over to Robin's left wrist, which was loosely bandaged as his head had been. "You managed to mangle yer wrist there, lad," Jack told him in a stern tone that clearly said to Robin that he wasn't going to convince Jack to not clean it. Jack reached over to the wrist, but Robin quickly moved it out of his reach. Jack rolled his eyes. "Stop being stubborn, ye yellow-bellied cur," he cursed. He tried again to grab Robin's wrist, but again Robin moved away from Jack.

"No way!" Robin protested loudly. "My head burns as if it were on fire because of you cleaning it! I'd be as _mad_ you if I'd let you pour the rest of the bottle over my wrist!" The hammock shook precariously from beneath him as he turned and twisted his body away from Jack in vain attempts to avoid the inevitable pain.

Finally, Jack threw up his hands in defeat and stepped back. "Alrigh'! If ye want to die of an infected wound, then fine by me!" he exclaimed angrily. Jack turned his back on Robin, and the latter sighed in relief despite the dire warning. Yet relief swiftly turned to alarm as Jack spun back around and made a wild grab at Robin's wrist.

"No!" Robin yelled in Jack's ear as they struggled on top of the hammock. "_Oww!_" Robin shouted as Jack decided to pour the rest of the rum all over Robin's torso, including his left arm. His wrist burned as the spiced alcohol seeped through the bandage and drenched the wound.

Jack jumped off of Robin and smirked triumphantly down at him. But before Jack could get in a few choice words, something caught his eye. It was a golden glint coming from the boy's chest, underneath the open soaked shirt he wore. Robin watched with growing alarm as Jack used his free hand and lifted the golden pendant of the soaring bird perfectly into view.

A flurry of emotions washed over Jack's face. Confusion and shock were two that were the most transparent in Jack's eyes. It was these two emotions that Jack pierced Robin with after a moment. "Where did you get this?" Jack demanded as his eyes continually traveled from the pendant to Robin and back again. Jack couldn't believe his eyes. This couldn't be the same necklace. However, his thumb rubbed against the little silver bell the soaring bird held in its beak and no sound came from it.

Robin took the necklace from his father's hand and took a deep breath before he forced himself to sit upright. "I got this from my mother," he said slowly. He looked up at Jack and saw the shock written all over his father's handsome features.

"You can't have," Jack said softly, disbelievingly. He shook his head and took a step away from the boy. "I haven't heard from her in _years_." What was he saying? Did he actually acknowledge that Emelia Kraven was _this_ boy's mother, or did Jack's rum-muddled mind just jump to that conclusion because it seemed convenient?

"Thirteen, to be exact," Robin added carefully. He could see that Jack was having a lot of trouble trying to discern whether he was telling the truth or not.

Jack shook his head stubbornly. A guarded look masked his shock now. "Ye can't have known that. Who are you?" he demanded. He smashed the end of the empty rum bottle against the side of his writing desk and then held out the jagged end threateningly at Robin, whose mouth was now slightly hung open with his own shock.

Robin slid off the hammock and swayed unsteadily on his feet for a moment. He stumbled over to the deck and leaned heavily upon it for support. With as much dignity as he could muster, Robin stood up as high as his height would allow and lifted his chin challengingly that painfully reminded Jack of Emelia Kraven.

"I am Robert Jacob Kraven," he said fiercely. "My mother is Emelia Kraven, and I am your son."

Jack shook his head slowly. "Mr. Robin, you are a bloody liar! I do not have a son, and if I had, it wouldn't be to a weak child like you," he yelled, hardening his heart against the look of immense hurt on the young boy's face. "I don't tolerate liars well! When we make port in Tortuga, you will be promptly left there along with your nuisance of a companion, Zanka Coffei - unless you claim that he is also my son!"

"How can you say that?!" Robin shouted back. "I _am_ your son! I can tell that you've felt some sort of feeling that this is true! You can _tell_ that I'm your-"

"Get out! Get out of my sight!" Jack roared. He pointed to the double doors.

Robin looked beseechingly at Jack Sparrow. "Please, father-"

"NOW!" Jack shouted. Jack couldn't bear to hear that name.

He waited until Robin staggered hazardously out of his quarters. Once the double doors slammed shut behind the hurt and shocked boy, Jack turned around and blindly threw the broken bottle against the wall where it shattered loudly. Jack strode over to his chair and threw himself upon it. He closed his eyes and pulled his tricorn hat tightly over his face so that only his frown could be seen. His mind was a great torrent of confusion, shock, and anger. Jack couldn't even begin to discern any reason in his thoughts, but one thing he was most certain was that boy who had watched him make a raving lunatic of himself with sad, dark brown eyes truly was the son of Emelia Kraven and Jack Sparrow.

And all he could ask was, "Why didn't she tell me?"


	11. Protect What's Yours

The early morning light streamed brightly through the clear glass of the wide bay windows in Jack's quarters. The day was all ready becoming promising; a calm, perfect day after a horrible storm.

Yet, Jack Sparrow didn't quite share these same sentiments as he despondently sat behind his writing desk with his back turned completely towards the windows. Jack wasn't doing anything in particular, just staring contemplatively into space. In front of him was his compass, which was open. From time to time, the needle would spin around as if it was possessed, but Jack knew it was only following what he desired most. However, Jack didn't really know what he desired right now. The shock created by the unexpected discovery of his son was still fresh in his mind. The shock had also left a seething wound in his gut.

In the exterior confines of his mind, there was the buzz that only lack of sleep could bring. For Jack had not slept a wink last night since kicking Robin out of the cabin. A sort of grim smile settled on his lips. _Kraven_ was what the boy had said of his last name. So he wasn't allowed to take his last name, eh? How quaint. These kinds of thoughts were what filled the interior confines of Jack's mind.

The captain's quarter was where Gibbs found his captain when he poked his head through the double doors. He was well aware of Jack's more-peculiar-than-normal mood, having been told of the situation from both an irate Jack and later from a melancholic Robin. After another moment, Gibbs stepped into the room and closed the doors behind him.

"Now I wondered where you've gone to," Gibbs said as a way of greeting as he walked closer towards his captain.

Jack sighed wearily. "I've only been here," he stated. He took the bottle on his writing table and pressed it towards his lips. However, he tasted no spiced liquid. Jack turned the bottle completely upside down, and only a couple of drops fell from the bottle mouth. Jack scowled. "Why is the rum _always_ gone?"

Gibbs shook his head. "It's a grand day, Jack. No use wasting it cooped up in this stuffy box," he said. To make his point, Gibbs walked past Jack towards the bay windows and threw them open to make his point.

The unfiltered light hit Jack like a fist. His hangover exploded into a full migraine. He scowled deeper.

"Now, how do you feel?" Gibbs asked obliviously as Jack rubbed his pounding temples.

"Like as if I want push you out of the window and smile and wave as you plummet down screamingly into the sea," Jack replied sardonically.

Gibbs chuckled, not at all incensed with this statement; he was glad the discovery of having an illegitimate son didn't affect Jack's biting sense of humor one bit. Maybe there was still some hope for the boy, even if it were only small. "Come out o' here, captain," Gibbs coaxed. "There be no spot of clouds in the sky, the breeze is enough to carry on the Pearl for quite a while, and the day-"

"I don't want to hear another word about how auspicious the bloody day is, Mr. Gibbs," Jack snapped as he jumped up from his chair. He began to pace the length of his cabin to work off some of his building agitation. "For all I care, this day could be as miserable and feral as last night's gale," Jack added almost bitterly.

Gibbs prudently held his tongue and listened as Jack continued his rant.

"How could Emelia not have spoken of this before we left in our own separate ways? There were many _opportunities_ to when we were together! It shouldn't be that hard to hide the fact one is with child."

"Perhaps she couldn't have known at the time, Jack," Gibbs suggested. "The Almighty God only knows things such as these."

Jack spun so hard on his heels that he almost fell over. When he was steady again, he rounded on Gibbs. "Oh? And why not tell me afterwards, eh?" he demanded. "She could have sent that heinous first mate Michael Turnbull of hers to deliver me a message."

Gibbs slowly shook his head. "Even if she did try to send Michael Turnbull with the message, it would have been a Herculean task to try to find us, being constantly on the run and all," he pointedly reminded Jack.

Jack made a motion with his hands that strongly suggested he wanted to bodily harm his first mate. "Well, she could have done something, _anything_ that could have given me a hint that I had a child!"

Gibbs tilted his head. "And would you have taken it seriously?" he asked with infinite patience and control.

Jack threw up his hands. "O' course not!" he said hotly. As Jack turned his back on Gibbs and resumed pacing, Marty quietly tiptoed into the room. He ducked out of Jack's way and decided it was safer to talk to the portly first mate.

Gibbs bent down at Marty's beckon. A few words were exchanged between the two men. Gibbs' brow slowly furrowed. "That so?" he finally queried when Marty was done.

The pirate dwarf nodded. His pale blue eyes flickered warily towards Jack, who seemed to be muttering with himself.

"Now don't mind him," Gibbs told Marty. "Tell the men to be prepared to be boarded." He then motioned for Marty to leave before turning his attention back to his captain. "Jack," he called.

"-of all the times to find I had a bloody son! I should hunt down Michael Turnbull and tell him-"

"Jack!" Gibbs repeated louder this time.

Jack tripped this time as he spun really hard on his heels.

Gibbs winced as his captain's body crashed on the floor. "Ye alright, Jack?" he asked, but Jack was all ready back on his feet in a second.

"Fine! Peachy!" Jack said, but his tone indicated the exact opposite. Spotting his hat at his feet, he used the toe of his boot to kick it up in the air, which he promptly caught and jammed it on his head, making the now lopsided article of clothing looking almost comical on him. "What do you need, Mr. Gibbs?" Jack snapped.

The smile that had been threatening to steal across his first mate's burly face was quickly caught and replaced with a much more solemn visage. "Marty just reported a ship's caught up with us. A pirate ship," Gibbs added for Jack's benefit. He hitched up his trousers after seeing a spark of interest in Jack's eyes. "You'll have yer chance to berate Michael Turnbull all you want, 'cause it's his ship that should be anchored next to us in a few short moments."

True to his words, the two men felt the Pearl's once smooth gait through the waves come to a halt. The loud splash of one of the two anchors was immediately heard.

Gibbs moved past Jack and flung open the doors. He gestured almost grandly towards the outside. "Now or never, captain - and I never thought o' ye as a 'never' kind," he added with a lopsided smile.

This was perceived as a challenge to Jack, who promptly fixed his tricorn hat and stood up taller. "Lead on, my good mate," he said before following his first mate out of the cabin.

The unanticipated arrival of this other ship had caused a stir amongst the crewmen. There were various mutterings to be heard throughout the main deck, and a few men had curiously gone to the starboard side to watch as the other ship anchored next to theirs.

"Oy, you! Get back to work or I'll have yer black guts to tie down me sails with!" Jack shouted at them. Rolling his eyes at the stupidity of some people, Jack quickly scanned the men out on the main deck.

"He's swabbin' the helm whence I last saw him," Gibbs told Jack, knowing he was looking for the cabin boy.

Not at all abashed that he was caught looking for Robin, Jack nodded and raised his hand in a salute towards the other ship. "Ahoy th-" The greeting died suddenly on his lips when he finally set eyes on the large vessel. It struck him with total familiarity. Indeed, Jack had seen this same ship long ago, drifting away against a magnificent sunset. Jack grabbed onto Gibbs' shoulder. "Do you see what I'm seein', or have I finally gone stark raving mad?" Jack gasped.

"No, I recognize her too," said Gibbs in a hushed tone of disbelief.

The once illuminated words that had graced the sides of this other ship were now gone, replaced and rechristened as The Black Rose. Yet, surely in Jack, Gibbs, and anyone else's mind who had already recognized this ship, this ship was once Emelia Kraven's pride and joy.

"The Rose!" hissed Robin from the helm. He hurriedly dropped the dirty rag he had been swabbing the deck with and ducked behind the large wooden steering wheel, narrowly managing to dislodge Cotton's parrot from his owner's shoulder.

"_Rawk!_ Watch it, sonny!" the colorful bird squawked indignantly.

"Oh, shut up!" Robin ordered the bird. Mindful of his injured left wrist, Robin slowly crawled towards the edge of the balcony, perfectly concealed by its rails. There were spaces between the wooden pegs just large enough for the alarmed boy to spy on the meeting between the two captains as Jack greeted Michael for the first time in nearly thirteen years.

"Good morrow, Jack Sparrow," Michael said as he and Jack shook hands.

_Captain_, Jack's mind screamed, but he decided to forgo with correcting the other captain. He had an inkling of what this fair pirate wanted from telling by the grave look in his familiar sky-blue eyes. Even before the discovery of Robin's true identity, his story of having run away from home was still at certain odds, and standing in front of him was one of those odds. However, instead of comments about the boy, what blurted out of Jack's mouth was, "How is Emelia?"

Michael blinked. He had been expecting something like this, yet it still came as a shock because it was _he_ who he thought would bring up the subject of the former female pirate. "She's fine," he said. "She misses you; hasn't had a word from you-"

"In thirteen years," Jack finished for him.

The hard, flat tone in Jack's words almost startled Michael. So did he find out about the identity of one of the two stowaways on his ship? Michael relaxed a little bit. Now it would be easier for him to bring Robin back home, and hopefully without much of a fuss. If it were true that Jack found out that Robin was his son, it was obvious that Jack did not welcome the discovery one bit. However, Michael's heart went for Robin, for Michael knew exactly how it felt to not be wanted by one's father.

Jack cleared his throat loudly, seeing as how Michael had fallen curiously silent after his words. "So why have you graced us with your especial presence, Mr. Turnbull?" he asked in a lighter tone.

Michael shook his head to bring himself back to the reality of the situation. He looked Jack square in the face. "You happen to have several stowaways on your ship since leaving Port Royal," he told Jack.

The other captain raised an eyebrow. "Do I?" he asked innocently. He shrugged his shoulders slowly with great gesture. "Then let's summon them, shall we?" Jack turned his back on Michael and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Any bloke just picked up from Port Royal report to this spot this instant!" he commanded.

Instantly, almost half the men on the main deck came forward and stood in a line in front of the two captains.

Robin jumped when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up and met with Gibbs' kind, grey-blue eyes. "Please, Mr. Gibbs, don't make me go," he pleaded beseechingly.

Gibbs sadly shook his head. "I'm sorry, lad. They'll know yer not there and start a riot between them lookin' fer you. Ye hafta head down there," he said.

Lowering his head in defeat, Robin slowly stood up and allowed Mr. Gibbs to take him by the shoulder and steer him down to the main deck. He was placed between Zanka and another pirate near the end of the line. As Jack and Michael began to slowly come towards their end, Robin hung his head lower and waited until the two pairs of boots stopped in front of the spot he and Zanka stood.

"What, in all that the Lord calls holy, _happened_ to this boy?" Michael exclaimed with panic.

Jack shrugged carelessly, although he also agreed that the bandages around Robin's head and left wrist didn't make him look very healthy at the moment. "Had a nasty incident with the storm late last night," he said flippantly.

"Oh, _did _he?"

Robin involuntarily flinched, though he had yet to raise his head. Michael's tone translucently said that the first moment he got hold of Robin alone, Robin would surely regret that he had not drowned at sea when he had the chance.

_Em is going to slaughter me_, Michael thought as his head spun. However, Robin and Zanka were moderately alive, and that's what really mattered. This relief came as a heartfelt sigh on Michael's part as he gazed at the two boys. While Zanka smiled cheekily at him, Robin refused to meet his eyes.

Now Jack feigned surprise as if he had come to a conclusion. "So these two are yer former crewmembers?"

Michael turned to Jack with real surprise and also confusion across his handsome features. Did Jack not know at all about who the younger of the two really was? Michael mentally shook his head. No matter then that Jack knew. Robin would be gone and Jack would never be the wiser. It would be better for all of them this way.

"Yes, these are the two," Michael told Jack. "They are two bounded boys on my ship, set to serve for a space of two years as payment for their families swindling me of some payment," he made up on the spot.

Jack raised a skeptical eyebrow. Had Michael no other originality than that? "Indeed? When I talked to this younger whelp, he told me that he ran away from his home," Jack said conversationally.

Michael was taken completely aback. "And did he speak of the reason _why_ he ran away?" he demanded almost defensively.

Jack inwardly smirked, loving how he was slowly flustering the other captain. "O' course not," he responded. "What am I to look into other men's hearts?" he asked rhetorically.

Michael nodded warily. He turned to the two boys and jerked his thumb towards his ship. "It's time you two serve the rest of your sent-"

"Hold on there, my good man o' fortune," Jack interrupted abruptly. "I am not quite finished with the business of these two young men."

Robin quickly looked up at his father at the same time Michael spluttered, "_Young men?!_" The mesmerizing dark eyes Robin had the misfortune of not inheriting pierced him and clearly told him to stay silent in this. Robin nodded gratefully at Jack, feeling his heart becoming much lighter.

"For Heaven's sake, they're still two young boys! And what is there to argue?" Michael demanded. "These two are of _my_ crew, and so I have right to them!"

"How much do their families owe to you?" Jack asked.

"What does it matter?" Michael spat vehemently, forgetting the story he had made up.

Jack held up a hand in front of his face. "It matters the entire world, Mr. Turnbull. You see, you had portrayed that the two families of said boys owed you payment. Hence why said boys are chain ganged into yer jolly crew in the first place. This certainly implies that said boys are worth somethin', and that somethin' I am readily and most eagerly offering to pay for in exchange for the crewing of said boys into me crew," he finished. Jack smirked, positively enjoying the confused look on Michael's face. Jack walked up to him and threw his arm around Michael's shoulders in camaraderie. Jack forced the fair pirate to turn to face the Rose.

Robin tiptoed as close as he dared and tried to strain his ears to hear what Jack was telling the still-disoriented pirate, yet he still could not hear a word. However, Robin's eyes widened with surprise, and even joy, when Jack pushed Michael onto the gangplank that served as a walkway between the two ships.

* * *

Michael stumbled back to his ship. He still had no clue how he'd been persuaded by Jack to return to the Rose. Yet it was too late to go back because in the next moment, he heard Jack's domineering rough voice order his crew to set sail immediately, fueling Michael's valid suspicion that Jack most likely knew who the two young boys, or at least one of them, really were. Michael spun around and gripped hard onto the railing of his ship as his sky-blue eyes searched out Robin amidst the bustling crewmen of the Pearl.

Michael spotted the back of Robin's bandaged head following Jack Sparrow into his cabin.  
He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Cap'n?" Briggen's voice came from behind. "Wot news?"

Michael pushed off the rail and turned to the thinly tall pirate. "Make sail for Barbados in all haste," he ordered.

* * *

Robin stood silently in Jack's quarters under the scrutiny of his father's eyes. Jack merely stood behind his writing desk, just staring at Robin almost as if he didn't know where the boy had come from - which was actually a valid reason. Robin waited and waited, hoping Jack would say something, but his legs were growing weary of just being stationary there on the carpet. "Why am I here, Captain?" Robin finally asked. He bit his lower lip nervously. "Why didn't you let me go with Michael if it was all ready your intention to-?"

"Belay that talk," Jack commanded him. "You may not regard me under the brightest of lights anymore, but if there was one thing yer _mother_ taught me, it was to protect what's yours."

Robin felt as if he had been electrified by Jack's words. Robin's dark brown eyes followed Jack as he moved around his writing desk and stood directly in front of him. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

For once in his life, Jack wanted to slap himself for his stupid mistake. But now that he thought about it, what _did_ Jack mean? He was most certainly not warming up to the boy; that was for sure.

"What are you protecting?" Robin persisted. He was growing angrier at being suddenly ignored. However, he didn't know his questions were making Jack now uneasy with his decision.

What _was_ Jack protecting? Was the real reason he had refused to give over this boy to Michael was to hold onto something, or someone, who knew Em as she was now? That must be it, Jack concluded. He had no affection whatsoever for this whelp, no type of parental obligation to give. As Jack returned his attention to Robin, the latter yelled, "ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!"

Jack blinked for a moment and used his pinky to rub his pounding eardrum. Then, he leaned forward until he was eye level with the boy and shouted, "_Why are you yellin'?_"

Robin would not be cowed. He placed his hands on his hips and demanded why Jack did not turn him over to Michael when he had the chance. "It would have saved you the trouble of stopping at Tortuga," Robin added bitterly.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back a little. "I couldn't as well let the bloke take ye before I could extort _some_ answers out o' ye," he said.

Robin looked suspiciously up at him. "Answers to _what_ questions?" he asked.

Jack smirked. "Smart boy," he commented. He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward so they were equally eyelevel. "You've heard the stories abou' me. I think it's past time you've told me some stories o' yer own," he said. "For thirteen years, I have heard not one word about what happened to Emelia Kraven, so I believe I more than deserve some answers."

Robin shrank away from Jack. "Why should I tell you?" he asked defensively. "From how I see it, you'll end up dumping me on Tortuga as previously planned!" he shouted angrily. Robin was very hurt and confused. He had been so sure, as he had watched Jack Sparrow confuse Michael Turnbull into leaving without Robin, that his father had had a change of heart. Instead, all Jack wanted was to press Robin for answers to his questions about Emelia Kraven.

Jack shrugged carelessly, although he did feel a pang somewhere deep in his heart. "Really, in the end, it doesn't matter to me whether or not ye tell me about yerself. Yet, if ye want to skip ahead to yer Judgement with ol' Michael and eventually Em (which I verily pity you), then I'll order the men to turn around now and catch up to him." Jack started towards the doors, but Robin quickly grabbed onto his arm with his good hand.

"No, please," he pleaded. "I didn't mean - I still want to - You can't just-" he subsided into weak murmurs as Jack slowly turned around and faced him with a triumphant smirk, which Robin saw. The boy stood up straighter and forced himself to look more brave and capable of handling this situation. He cleared his throat. "I'll tell you all you want to know if you tell me about the times when my mother was a pirate; about the first time you met her, Captain," he negotiated.

Jack looked confused for a moment. Then it dawned on him that perhaps Emelia Kraven might not have been readily willing to tell her son everything about her infamous lover. Perhaps it would have hurt her to do so.

A small smile flitted over Jack's lips. He still may not be comfortable with this young boy in front of him who claims to be his son, but he did admire his guts. Jack couldn't deny that Robin had inherited that part of it from him. "So we have an accord."

As he and his son shook hands, the father added, "And ye may have the honor of plainly calling me Jack."


	12. The Other Promise

_Robin shifted uncomfortably on the stool Gibbs had been kind enough to provide for him. The inside of the captain's quarters, after having become a familiar sight over the last few days, now felt small and cramped. _

_  
Robin's brow furrowed with confusion. "W-What do you mean?" he asked the captain with uncertainty.  
_

_Jack Sparrow sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'll say it again, but I'll put it more simply." He smirked wryly at the glare the young boy threw him. It reminded Jack strongly of the boy's mother. "The fact, though inconceivable, that yer me illegitimate boy must_ never _be breathed of outside these four walls. Savvy?"_

Robin ground his teeth so vigorously that they made a sick, squelching noise. His body shook with fatigue, but Robin somehow found the strength to scrub the wooden deck harder, as if he could rub out Jack Sparrow's bearded face from the wood.

_"And what if I was proud to claim that you are my father?" Robin retaliated, although, at that moment, he felt anything but pride to have this man as his father. Robin watched warily as Jack stood up from his seat and closed the distance between them until their faces were inches away from each other.  
_

_Jack said nothing at first. He watched with amusement at how this boy tried, with much difficulty, to not turn away from Jack's foul breath. Yet, Robin finally caved in and moved his head to the side. Jack smiled grimly. "And what, dare I ask, have you to be proud of me? I'm a scoundrel, a thief of the high seas," Jack proclaimed. Yet there was, Robin noted, a trace of glee in Jack's voice as he ticked off the long list of the many nicknames he had acquired during his years of piracy.  
_

_Although these names were his father's, each and every one of them was a personal insult to not only Robin but to his mother as well. Did Jack not care about either of them? "If you were all these things and more, then why did my mother fall in love with you?" Robin countered angrily.  
_

_Jack took a step back and leaned back onto his writing desk with a satisfied smirk on his face as if he had just proven something. He shrugged carelessly when Robin repeated his question. "Sorry to have to break any fantasies ye have o' how heroic yer mother is, or was, but what she was, was a pirate. A scallywag, just as I am. Besides," Jack chuckled wickedly, "What woman can resist me?" _

Though his hands had calloused over during his time at sea, Robin couldn't help wincing a bit as he accidentally scraped the palms of his hands over the rough floor boards. Robin swore aloud as he sat back and held up his hands to inspect them. They were as raw as the first time Robin scrubbed the decks. Blisters at the bases of his fingers had ripped open. "Bloody hell," Robin grunted as he tried to staunch the thin flow of blood coming from his hands.

At that same moment, a large shadow fell over him. "I think it's past time ye took a break, Master 

Robin." Two pieces of part of a rag fell onto Robin's lap. "Take that onto yer hands."

Robin sent a furtive glance over his shoulder at Mr. Gibbs as he wrapped his hands with the coarse materials. However, Robin did not do as Mr. Gibbs first suggest and got on all fours again and took the dirty rag. "I don't need a break, Mr. Gibbs, and please don't call me Master Robin. It unnerves me," he added with a grimace.

Gibbs couldn't help smiling as he placed his hands on his hips. "Just like yer mother, ye are, lad," Gibbs remarked as he placed a friendly hand on Robin's shoulder.

Robin stiffened, having been caught totally unawares at the mention of his mother. He sat up again. "You knew her well?" he asked slowly.

Gibbs patted Robin's shoulder before he took a seat next to him. "Aye, I knew her as all the men who knew her as a pirate did," Gibbs said warmly. "Mighty courageous lass, Emelia Kraven was. She was the only one who could keep Jack Sparrow on his toes and away from the bed - if she could help it," Gibbs added with a chuckle.

Robin grimaced at the last part. Gloomily, he said, "I wish I'd been there to see them."

Gibbs looked at Robin with surprise. "If ye had, then thar's no way ye would be here right now," he remarked with a bit of humor.

Robin missed it, though. "Oh, yes. Here right now where I am cabin boy to a father who doesn't want it known that I'm his illegitimate son, and who will dump me on Tortuga, an infamous pirate haven, the first chance he gets," Robin said sarcastically.

"Now lad, Jack deserves more credit than that-"

Robin jumped to his feet and shouted down at the old first mate, "What credit? You don't understand! He doesn't bloody want anything to do with me! Isn't it obvious, you daft man?"

Shaking his head, Gibbs slowly got onto his feet. He tried to place his hand on Robin's shoulder, but the latter angrily moved out of his reach.

"Listen, son-"

"Son? What son? I've not a father to be a son to," Robin said bitterly. "I'm not worthy enough to be a son of anyone."

Gibbs walked up to him and smartly hit the boy upside the head.

"What'd you do that for?" Robin demanded as he touched the side of his head.

"Because yer acting lower than a drunken bum tied by rope and dunked into a well," Gibbs retorted tartly.

Robin blinked but then rolled his eyes. He leaned heavily onto the side of the ship, looking out into the waves. "What would you have me do, Mr. Gibbs?" he asked after a time.

Gibbs stood next to him. "Well, Robin, my best advice is to wait. Think o' it this way, lad: Yer like a stream. All streams cut into the land, giving life with its waters, but yet still not really belonging to the land. All streams are a part of the ocean and eventually lead back into the ocean."

"But what does any of that mean?" Robin demanded. When he turned to face Gibbs, Robin found that the portly pirate had left him to ponder those mysterious words.

It was slightly maddening to Robin how a simply mysterious advice given to him by Joshamee Gibbs would fill up his entire day by pondering about it. Even well after the sun had fallen below the horizon and the moon had taken its place was Robin still puzzled.

He would have been grateful for the solitude on the empty main deck this night. When the sun rose again, the Pearl would arrive upon Tortuga. Robin had come to associate this place with a miserable twist in his stomach whenever he thought of it. It was true that Zanka Coffei would be with him still, but it wasn't very reassuring. What would become of them once Jack Sparrow threw them off the Black Pearl? Robin sure as bloody hell would not dare come back to Barbados. All he would gain from coming back would only be shame upon himself and his mother.

His mother . . .

Robin couldn't bear to see his mother again with her face full of both shame from him running away and deep misery at having to know that her son not only failed to bring back her lover but also the Mermaid's Tear.

Robin immediately halted just behind the great wooden steering wheel at the helm. He placed a palpitating hand unsteadily atop a peg of the steering wheel. His chest heaved mightily as if he had swum a thousand miles offshore. A rapturous and wild look crossed his boyish features.

"Bloody hell," exclaimed Robin with a weak chuckle. "Have I been that daft?"

"Well, personally, I wouldn't be surprised if ye weren't mad as well."

Spinning around, Robin came face to face with Jack Sparrow, who stood on the top step of the staircase. "Fa-" Robin quickly caught himself. "Captain! Just who I needed to see!"

Jack gave the boy an odd look before he ushered him away from the steering wheel and took Robin's place behind it. For a moment, Robin thought Jack had absolutely chosen to ignore him 

because the captain stared straight ahead at the lowly waves. However, when Robin was staring to doubt talking to Jack at all, the pirate spoke, "Now, why did ye need ol' Captain Jack Sparrow, hmm?"

Robin shifted uncomfortably on his feet when Jack turned his penetrating gaze towards him. _Don't back down now, Robin_, the boy thought before he cleared his dry throat. "I wanted to ask you if I could-"

"Stay here," Jack brusquely finished for him. He waved his hand idly as he turned back to the steering wheel with his brow furrowed. "No matter how many times ye ask me to stay, me answer's always and indefinitely will be no."

"Wait, just listen-"

"No, _you_ listen, boy." Jack moved away from the wheel and sternly waved a jeweled finger under Robin's nose. "I've had all I can take o' you in me hair-"

"Just listen to what I have to say!" Robin shouted, but it was like asking the sky to become white.

"I already know what ye want, boy," Jack screeched over Robin's protestations. "Ye can't stay on me ship! This is a bloody pirate ship, got that? This place especially is no place for some snot-nosed, mama-crying, brat! Any o' that getting through that thick skull o' yers?" Jack demanded.

Tears quickly stung the back of Robin's eyelids, but he fiercely blinked them away. Rage and despondency battled inside of him until rage won over. The next thing Robin knew, his balled fist had collided with the side of Jack's face. When Robin regained full awareness, the first thing he saw was Jack Sparrow at his feet, struggling to stand back up with one hand while also tending to his bruised jaw with the other.

Seeing his father (for, after all, Jack was still his father) in this vulnerable state, Robin's anger suddenly drained out of him. This sudden absence of his energy left the boy feeling weary. The feeling of despondency that had been previously pushed back by anger returned to Robin. In a calm, collected voice that surprised even him, Robin told Jack that he didn't need him anymore. "Zanka and I will find out own way to survive. _Without_ your or your bloody boat's help," Robin added with a spark of anger returning to his gut. Without another word, Robin stormed down to the crew's quarters where he never slept a wink that night.

* * *

That next day's morning, Robin was more than ready to leave behind the Black Pearl and its captain for the bustle and chaos Tortuga held before him. They were coming upon Tortuga but had not yet docked. So, to pass the time and to thoroughly avoid another confrontation with Jack Sparrow, Robin busied himself amongst the crewmen.

When it was time to leave, Robin took his duffel bag from where it had been waiting in the crew's quarters. Without so much as a backwards glance towards the helm, where Jack calmly stood, Robin and Zanka departed from the Pearl and into Tortuga.

From first glance, Tortuga looked, sounded, and smelled like any other pirate town. Yet, Robin knew better. This place had become an infamous part of history; even as the Black Pearl and its captain was.

In no time at all, Robin's ears pained him from the cacophony of loud and irritable noises coming from everywhere around him. He and Zanka were very careful to stay out of the large beaten road, as every once in a while, rogues would chase one another on horse carriages. Robin was especially careful about keeping Zanka away from any saloon fights that eventually brought themselves out into the streets. Everywhere, drunks and prostitutes staggered around, and both boys had learned long ago that a drunken pirate was far worse to deal with than a sober one. Many of these women seemed to be coming from a whorehouse called The Wicked Wench, a building Robin and Zanka had the misfortune of stumbling across.

One whore latched onto Zanka's free arm.

"My, ye look like a real man," she purred as she began to sensually stroke Zanka's cheek.

"Really?" Zanka asked excitedly, his already high-pitched voice raising an octave higher.

This sight would have been highly amusing to Robin if he hadn't been so apprehensive about being in a pirate haven. He wanted nothing more than to find a halfway decent inn to stay at until they knew an inkling of what they were going to do now. "Alright, break it up," Robin rudely cut in. The whore's heavily powdered face, her disheveled blond hair, and her loose yellow dress revolted Robin. He couldn't imagine how Zanka could be mesmerized by her. Her voice, when she spoke, was irritatingly whiney.

"Run along now, little boy!" the whore exclaimed contemptuously. "This is no place for children!"

"Yeah, mon. I'll catch up to ya latah," Zanka said animatedly. His black eyes were practically ogling the whore's full breasts, which were very noticeable underneath the thin fabric of her dress. It didn't help that her dress was the kind that laced up at the front and that the top part was unlaced.

Robin's temper flared, kindled by his rising irritation and anxiety. With one mighty push, Robin managed to separate the pair before they had a chance to slip away into the night.

"Aw, bradda!" Zanka groaned as his determined friend forcefully took him by the arm and began to drag him away from the disgruntled whore.

Robin grunted. "You don't need that trash," he said over his shoulder. As they passed another whorehouse, a figure sitting on the front steps caught Robin's eye.

It was a young girl. It was hard to tell how old she really was because she looked like the women around her, though with less of the disheveled look. Perhaps it was because of what she was wearing was the reason why she had such a sullen look amid the curtain of wavy dark blond hair falling on either side of her face. Even from the distance in which he and Zanka walked past this building, Robin could see that under the white powder and the rogue on her cheeks, this young girl was quite pretty.

She noticed him staring. Her forlorn blue eyes locked onto his dark brown eyes. The rising disgust Robin had first begun to feel for her profession slowly dropped and pity mixed with it. It was obviously plain that she wished to be anywhere but there.

Maybe his pity for her was made clear on his face because upon meeting his eyes, the girl's own blue eyes narrowed and she lifted her chin up at him with defiance. A dark scowl tugged the corners of her thin lips down.

"Oi, you!"

Robin tore his eyes away from the girl and watched as a woman in scarlet marched angrily up to him. "What do you want?" he asked her nervously. She looked very intimidating. It didn't help that she towered over him.

Ignoring Zanka, who tried to grab her attention, the woman stopped right in front of Robin and leaned forward to scrutinize his face. "Ye look mightily familiar," she told him suspiciously.

Robin tried not go gag as the heavy scent of perfume hit his nostrils. "I do?"

At that moment, the woman's eyes widened with recognition that only she could see. She reared back her hand and slapped Robin hard across the face.

"What did I do?" Robin shouted as she stalked away in a huff. He gingerly touched his smarting face and let out a stream of curses that grew louder when he noticed both Zanka and the girl on the steps laughing at him. Rather than reprimanding Zanka, Robin made an ugly hang gesture towards the girl before he strode away from the place with Zanka quickly trailing.

"Do yuh think she thought ya looked like Cap'n Sparrow?" Zanka asked as he fell into step with his younger companion.

Robin made a derisive noise with the back of his throat. "That's what's maddening about it. I think she did," he remarked heavily.

At that moment, a bar brawl broke out into the streets.

A large, burly pirate knocked into Zanka, bringing them both down. Robin immediately dropped his duffel bag to help Zanka back onto his feet. The tall Jamaican native was beside himself with indignation.

"Watch where you're goin', ya ugly brute!" Zanka shouted at the pirate's back as the man staggered to his feet.

Robin took a cautionary step away as Zanka continued to insult the drunken pirate. "Zanka," Robin called nervously as his eyes darted towards the brawl erupting all around them. He hoped this pirate didn't have any friends. "I think he got the point. Let's get out of here!"

"Me madda could hold her drink bettah than ya!" Zanka continued shouting. "And ya call yuhself a pirate! Me madda could be a battah pirate than ya!" Then to Zanka's horror, the pirate spun around with his cutlass in hand. But before the Negro boy could have lost his head, another cutlass crossed the pirate's blade just inches from Zanka's neck. Both pirate and Zanka turned to Robin with surprise.

"I don't think that's a very smart thing to do," Robin said evenly as he and the pirate unlocked their blades and took a few steps away from Zanka. The other boy began to open his mouth to say something, but Robin held up a hand. "Belay that, Zanka," he hissed.

The pirate snickered drunkenly at the pair as he leered at Zanka. "Be thankful that yer friend o'er thar be protectin' ye, ye little black nigger, else ye woulda been shark food 'fore mornin'," he growled.

Robin sighed with relief as he lowered his cutlass. He was thankful himself that there had been no confrontation. Yet, as the pirate turned around and began to walk away, Zanka couldn't help grumbling loud enough to be heard over the din, "Yeah, well, I coulda taken him. Look at him! He be runnin' away like a girl."

The pirate swung around with his cutlass raised once more and charged towards Zanka. With a yell, Zanka flew out of the way as Robin took his spot and clashed swords with the pirate.

"Leave him alone!" Robin yelled as he ducked under the pirate's blade.

The pirate bared his uneven yellow teeth at the young boy. "Oh, ye should be worryin' 'bout yerself, whelp!" With a primeval roar, he began to attack Robin with more ferocity that the boy was having a hard time just trying to defend himself to get in an offensive attack. By now, the whole street's patrons were making way for the two to have the room to fight. On all sides, cheers and jeers were thrown by the spectators.

By far, although Robin did have the skill with the sword, it did not really make up for the fact that in strength, he lacked. His opponent had the advantage there by far and was using his strength to slowly make the smaller boy move around to his pleasure. So it was with this advantage did the pirate spot an empty glass bottle lying abandoned on the ground a few feet behind the boy and decided a way to win this fight. With his strength, he used both his sword and his body to force Robin to slowly back up in defense, none the wiser about the bottle.

Zanka, however, spotted the bottle and quickly figured out what the pirate was planning. He shouted a warning to his friend, but it was too late. Zanka watched fearfully as Robin tripped over the bottle. Robin twisted around and threw out his free hand to catch himself. He fell with a sickening thud, and in the process, his cutlass flew out of his hand.

"Get up, bradda!" Zanka screamed. "He's right above ya!"

Without wasting the time to roll over, Robin instinctively lifted a leg and kicked out. He was satisfied and relieved when his foot came in contact with the pirate's large potbelly. Robin rolled onto his back, got crouched down onto his feet, and launched himself into the pirate, knocking them both down onto the ground. With another lurch, Robin succeeded in getting the pirate to drop his cutlass. They rolled away from the weapon with fists flailing and swear words flying.

From the distance of where the street began, both swordfighters vaguely heard the familiar sounds of running horses. As Robin threw himself onto the pirate, they began to realize that these sounds were coming their way. Slowly, they turned their heads towards the noise, and to their horror, a horse carriage was barreling down the street towards them. With a yell, both pirate and Robin let go of each other and rolled out of the way. Robin squeezed his eyes shut as the carriage flew past his body, sending up debris everywhere. He then heard a thud very close to his head. When he opened his eyes, he was staring sideways at his own reflection on the blade of the pirate's cutlass. Robin followed the blade with his eyes as the pirate raised it over his head. In a surge of panic, Robin narrowly rolled out of the way in time as the blade came crashing down.

"Zanka, where's my bloody sword?!" Robin cried as he did his best to dodge the murderous blade. The pirate's boot caught his shin. As Robin's leg exploded with pain, the pirate seized the opportunity to cut the boy across the shoulder. "Hurry!" Robin called desperately as he ran away with a hand pressed tightly over his bleeding shoulder.

"Zanka to the rescue!" shouted the tall black boy as he pushed himself through the thick onlookers and onto the street. He spotted a blade poking underneath a large wooden bucket and ran over towards it. "I got it!" Zanka cried as he clumsily picked up the cutlass and held it high in the air. When he turned around, he came face to face with the pirate breathing down on him like a fierce dragon.

"_You!_" the pirate roared. His eyes seemed to nearly pop out of his head.

Zanka immediately dropped the weapon and screamed like a terrified girl as the pirate grabbed a fistful of Zanka's shirt and yanked him up high until his toes barely brushed the ground. "Please, please," Zanka begged. "There be places I wanna go, sights I wanna see, women I wanna meet!"

Robin jumped out from the crowd. He skidded to a halt just in front of his cutlass and picked it up before he charged after the pirate. It was over in seconds. Zanka fell back onto the ground as the pirate gave a gurgled gasp. Robin pulled out his cutlass and was immediately sickened by the sight of the dark red blood coating his blade. In the next second, the body of the pirate fell backwards onto Robin, knocking down and pinning the terrified boy underneath.

"Zanka, help me!" Robin cried in a fearful tone. Robin's own insides felt as if they were tearing apart as the full realization of what he had just done hit him hard. He had killed another human being.

"I can't get him off!" Zanka shouted. "The body be too heavy for me, bradda." A large shadow fell over Zanka. The boy looked up at the tall figure standing across from him on the other side of the body.

"Step aside, lad," the figure commanded gruffly.

Zanka jumped out of the way and watched with wide eyes as the pirate bent down and put all his strength into rolling the dead corpse off of the terrified boy. Zanka immediately came forward and stepped into Robin's vision before he had time to catch a glimpse of his rescuer. "Bradda, you be alright?" Zanka demanded as he helped his friend onto his feet.

Robin looked visibly shaken. His eyes were still wide with shock and his face was deathly pale underneath the pirate's blood that had fallen on him. Robin merely glanced at Zanka before he turned to the side and emptied out his stomach.

Zanka grimaced. He was pushed out of the way as the figure from before came forward and took Robin by the shoulders once the boy was done retching. "You," the pirate directed at Zanka, "Pick up his weapon and yer belongin's and follow me." With that, the figure began to steer Robin out of the mayhem in the street with Zanka following close by. They went into one of the less chaotic pubs. The figure sat Robin down and immediately ordered a couple of drinks for the three.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Zanka asked uncertainly as he took a seat next to Robin. Zanka was unnerved the Robin still had yet to say a single word.

The pirate also noticed the younger boy's silent change in attitude. What particularly brought some concern to the pirate was the way the boy stared blankly straight ahead with a stunned expression still on his face. The pirate leaned forward and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and shook him slightly. In an almost reassuring tone, he said, "The first time ye kill someone is the hardest, son."

With these words, Robin was brought immediately back to reality. He slowly looked up at his father as the latter leaned back into his seat. "Why are you here?" he asked stupidly.

Jack Sparrow accepted the tankard the barmaid handed to him and took a deep drink from it. "Can't a pirate enjoy bein' in a pirate haven?" Jack countered lightly. He can see that the boy was still very shaken up. However, Jack's demeanor turned more serious as he leaned forward and placed his arms on top of the table, surveying his illegitimate son. "Now, what crazy notion had possessed you to try to fight a more experienced pirate?" Jack asked with a hint of curiosity.

Robin also took the tankard of rum the barmaid was handing out and took a very sloppy drink before he answered. "He was trying to kill Zanka." Robin stared at his father for a moment, particularly at the bruise on Jack's left cheek that Robin had given him the night before.

Jack nodded. "Very noble," he said sarcastically. After a moment, he added, "And incredibly stupid. Got that from yer mother, eh?"

Through the rising haze of drunkenness, Robin tried to glare in Jack's general direction. "She is more noble than you," he slurred angrily. "Why are you bloody here anyway, huh? I thought you kicked us out of your ship!"

Jack rolled his eyes wearily. "Well, it's hard not to notice an enormous crowd surrounding a pair of fighting pirates, one being merely a boy," he drawled. Jack stood up with his tankard. "I'll be leaving you boys now," he said. "I've got places to go, certain people to see."

Despite being furious with him, Robin couldn't let him go. He couldn't lose his father again and even if Jack Sparrow did not want to recognize Robin as his son, Robin still had to fulfill another promise. "Wait!" Robin shouted. "Can we stay?" he pleaded pitifully.

Jack slowly turned around. "In Tortuga," he said with finality. "Well, if there isn't any more nonsense ye wanna throw at me-"

"No! I have something that might interest you," Robin said quickly. He took his duffel bag from Zanka and rummaged through it as Jack unwillingly sat down again, his curiosity getting the better of him. Feeling more sober, and relieved for it, Robin pulled out the map he had taken from Emelia Kraven and slapped it on the table in front of Jack. "There, look at it and tell me it's not genuine," Robin said triumphantly.

With a skeptical look, Jack hesitantly pulled the map towards him and inspected it. His heart seemed to jump as he took in every detail of this old treasure map. The Latin words surrounding the small "X" on the map said, "The Mermaid's Tear."

"Blimey," Jack said softly. "Ye actually have somethin' here!" Jack looked up at the beaming face of both boys. Robin's previous pallor was now full of color and life.

"So, you be keeping us longer in yuh boat?" Zanka asked excitedly.

Robin and Jack alike made an angry noise in the back of their throats.

"If ye stop callin' me ship a boat, then I say we may conclude this discussion in me cabin tomorrow mornin'," Jack finally said.

Robin stood up and stuck out his hand. "Agreed?" he demanded.

Although the promise of the riches this legendary treasure will bring hung very promising in his eyes, Jack was very hesitant about having Robin Kraven back on his ship. But treasure and the other promise of another adventure called. "Aye," he said reluctantly and shook the hand.


	13. The Thief

It was easy to find out the inn they were staying at. Even easier to bribe the inn-keeper into telling which room they were in. Sure, it required having to forfeit a few shillings to persuade the inn-keeper to talk, but the results of this day would be worth every coin given up.

The door to the room was locked, but after picking it open, it softly creaked when pushed. Neither boy on the small bed awoke. They were still perfectly asleep. The weak morning light caught the golden necklace of the younger of the two boys. Another light shined on the small gold earring on the top of his right ear. Both drew attention so tauntingly but iron will rejected it. There was better to be found, and if the deed was done quickly, there may be time for just the charming necklace later.

Locating the duffel bags the boys had been carrying yesterday was easy as well. They lay against the opposite wall of the bed. As fingers searched through clothes and other items, a snore from the older boy erupted and filled the room for what seemed like a long time. Frightened blue eyes watched the black boy warily as he shifted uncomfortably on the small bed until he found a good position and slept on quietly. With a soft sigh of relief, the silent intruder moved aside the first useless duffel bag and plunged her hands into the second. It was all too easy.

_Too_ easy.

"Zanka," Robin mumbled grumpily in his sleep. "Stop moving." He shifted away from his restless companion, trying vainly to find some sort of space between them on the narrow bed and succeeding when he rolled onto his right side with his back towards Zanka.

"Madda," Zanka groaned. "Where be da Jacks?"

Robin's eyes fluttered open as his consciousness registered the last word Zanka had mumbled out loud. Robin raised his head and looked over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrow when he only saw Zanka's feet where his head should have been. Wrinkling his nose, Robin dropped his head back onto the pillow, blinking away the morning light and his drowsiness. A small smile broke across his face. He and Zanka were leaving Tortuga on Jack Sparrow's ship to look for the Mermaid's Tear. A tiny bubble of hope grew in his chest. Maybe there was still a chance for his first promise. They had to talk to each other today anyway to discuss the map.

Robin shivered as another cold draft rippled over his body. Then he noticed something amiss as he lay on his side. The door to their room that he was facing was wide open. Shock seized Robin the same time he saw that whoever had opened the door was still in the room at the opposite end where the bed was. He watched the figure look through their things. Tufts of short dark blond hair fell out from underneath the large floppy hat the boy wore. Robin couldn't see his face, as his back was towards him. The thief hadn't noticed that Robin was wide awake. Panic rippled through Robin when he noticed that it was his duffel bag that the thief was rifling through. Robin's mind pictured the map. Maybe the boy knew about it. Robin knew he had to react quickly before the thief found it.

With utmost care, Robin slid out from under the thin covers and tip-toed directly behind the thief as the latter withdrew the folded map from the duffel bag. From up close, the boy was smaller than Robin. He grabbed the boy's shoulder and spun him around. A familiar pair of blue eyes met his own, but before Robin could discern where he had seen those eyes before, the boy brought up his leg and kicked Robin in the shin.

"Bloody hell!" Robin howled as he hopped around while clutching his leg. The thief took their chance and pushed Robin to the ground before making way towards the wide open door. "Get back here!" Without taking care to put on his boots, Robin grabbed his belt and cutlass and ran after the thief.

"Stop him!" Robin hollered at the inn-keeper as he threw himself down the stairs. However, it was too late for the large man to do anything and the thief had already burst through the bar entrance with Robin not too far away. Like a game of cat and mouse, Robin followed the thief through twisted alleyways and crooked streets of the district they were in. He was regretting more and more with each step about not putting on his boots. It was very apparent that the thief knew these streets very well. It was even harder for Robin to catch up to him as the thief threw items of sorts in his way.

As they ran up a particularly busy street, the familiar sounds of a horse drawn carriage came towards them from the opposite end. The thief and Robin threw themselves out of the way in time as the carriage flew precariously close past them. While Robin was able to stumble his way back onto his feet, the thief had not been so lucky. In his attempt to keep the map safe from harm, the thief had held it close to his body. He had let himself tumble onto the rough cobblestone ground. Robin quickly threw himself onto the thief and hauled him up by the collar of his dirty cotton shirt.

The wide brim of floppy hat completely hid the thief's face. "Why did you take my map?" Robin demanded, rattling the boy like a ragdoll. The thief removed his hat and long, wavy, dark blond hair cascaded down. To Robin's surprise, not a boy, but a girl glowered up at him. And underneath all the dust, Robin recognized the same girl he had seen yesterday sitting on the steps of the brothel.

"Take your filthy hands of me!" the girl cried defiantly as she held the map out of Robin's reach.

"And why should I, whore?" Robin demanded angrily.

An ugly tomato color blush rose on the girl's otherwise pale face. "I am _not_ a whore!" she shrieked as she took one of Robin's hands and bit it hard.

Robin shouted as pain exploded in his right hand and released her. He swore loudly as he realized his mistake. The girl jumped out of his reach as he made a swipe at her. She stuck out her tongue impishly and scrammed towards the nearest alley. But to her alarm, the alley only led to a dead end. There was a door off to the side flanked by two lighted braziers, but it was tightly locked. There was not enough time to pick it open and Robin had finally come upon her.

He withdrew his cutlass. Fearful at the sight of the weapon, the girl backed up until her back hit the locked door. Robin placed the blade at the base of her neck. "Give me back the map," he ordered. "And I won't hurt you."

The girl surreptitiously looked from the cutlass towards the closest brazier to the left side of her head.

Robin noticed this and rolled his eyes at her. "Don't think you could throw that at me," he told her in a condescending tone. He motioned towards the map in her right hand. "Now give it here."

"If you're trying to get me to fancy you, it's not working," she told him snidely.

Robin blinked. "What the bloody hell are you babbling about?" he demanded as a blush to almost rival hers slowly crept into his cheeks. Robin took a frightened step back as the girl took a bold one forward. "What are you doing? Just give me my map back, whore!"

Again, the tomato blush. "I am not a whore!" she screamed as tears glistened in her blue eyes. "I was born in the brothel, but I am _not_ one of them!" She held up the map and took a step near the brazier.

Robin's eyes widened. "H-Hey, what are you doing?" he stammered. "Get away from that!"

"Isabella." The map dangled precariously over the burning hot coals situated inside the large copper dish. The girl sent Robin a warning glare. "My name is Isabella."

"Alright, alright! Now step away from there."

But Isabella stayed where she was. "I want to make a trade with you," she told him. "This map for a passage out of this godforsaken place."

"Fine," Robin said automatically.

"You swear as a pirate?" she pressed.

The corners of Robin's mouth twitched. "Aye."

Isabella smiled brightly and stepped away from the brazier. She held out the map to Robin, who sheathed his cutlass. "I'm sorry I gave you all that trouble," Isabella apologized.

"Oh, no trouble at all." Robin snatched the map and took a step back. "Ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "Good day!"

Isabella's jaw dropped. "But you promised!" she screamed, nearing tears again. "You gave me a pirate's oath!"

Robin laughed spitefully. "Sorry to break it to you, but I'm not a pirate," he told her. Robin spun on his heel and promptly collided into someone's chest. Robin looked up and saw it was Jack Sparrow. "Jack, what are you doing here?" Robin asked, surprised.

The pirate grinned wryly. "Wonderin' why the whole street was in a bloody uproar," he said gruffly. He looked past Robin at Isabella before returning his attention to the boy. "Lad, if ye want a lass, let 'er come to you instead of chasing her all over Tortuga."

"I don't fancy her!" Robin exploded angrily. "She's a prostitute!"

Jack held up a finger. "I prefer to call 'em 'women of the night'."

Briefly forgotten, Isabella slowly snuck behind Robin and then grabbed the map. She ran over to the brazier again and held the map over the hot coals. "Listen to me!" she said shrilly. "Now, unless you give me a passage out of Tortuga, I will burn this map and your chance for riches and glory with it!"

Robin began to draw out his cutlass but Jack placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Now, now. Belay that, boy. Situations like these need a little finesse," Jack told him easily. He stepped in front of Robin and calmly walked closer towards the girl. "Now Isabella, as I recall, I may just assent to your tempting proposition. But why ever would a fittingly, lively young lass such as yourself would want to leave a daring place as Tortuga?" Jack inquired charmingly.

Robin pretended to gag behind him, almost eliciting a smile out of Isabella. She returned her attention to the pirate before her. "I never asked you to question me about my motives. All I want is to leave this place and never come back." She removed the map from above the brazier and held it close to her. "Please," she begged piteously. "I promise not to cause any trouble for you and I will work very hard for my keep."

"Jack," Robin said warningly as a small smile spread across his father's lips. "Don't think about it. She's lying. She'll only be trouble."

Jack looked slyly at Robin. "The way I see it, boy, we have no other choice. We lose the map and a rather fine addition to our crew if we ignore this," he reasoned.

Robin sputtered, "'Fine addition'? She's a bloody menace!"

Jack leaned close to him. "Once upon a time, no one thought a sparrow and a raven would fall in love. Instead, they made a robin." Turning away from the partly stunned, partly confused boy, Jack addressed the girl. "If you don't mind fending off more than a dozen lonely men on the high seas, then yer very welcome onto me ship, the finest in the Caribbean. The Black Pearl," he told her.

Isabella's eyes widened with disbelief. She was really leaving! She flew away from the brazier and wrapped her arms tightly around the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow's waist. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she choked tearfully. "You won't regret this!"

Jack turned his head away with an unnerved look before he pushed her away. He cleared his throat to regain some sense of composure. "Now, for that map-"

Isabella quickly evaded him. She shook her head stubbornly. "No. Take me to the Black Pearl first and _then_ I'll give you back the map!" she told him.

Jack smirked. "Smart girl. I like ye already." He look at Robin and jerked his head towards the opening of the alley way. "Follow me. You too, lass."

* * *

Isabella gasped as she beheld the magnificent sight of the Black Pearl when they arrived at the docks. "I've never seen a ship like this before in my life!" she breathed. She began to step onto the gangplank, but an arm stopped her.

"Sorry darling, but I cannot let you onto me ship wearing boy clothes. It's either a dress or nothing, and I currently don't happen to have a dress in me cabin." Jack smiled widely.

Robin clapped his forehead. "For the love of all that's holy, Captain! She's younger than you!" he exclaimed.

Jack winked at Isabella, whose face was an unbecoming blotchy red by embarrassment, before he began up the gangplank. "Ah, Mr. Gibbs! Where have the rum barrels I had ordered gone to?"

An uncomfortable silence descended on the pair.

Robin cleared his throat and nodded towards the ship. "Let's go," he said shortly. When they stepped onto the main deck, they were immediately greeted by Zanka.

"Bradda!" Zanka shouted jovially. He held out Robin's boots. "Here be yuh shoes ya left behind! Thought yuh'd want them back!"

For the first time that day, a grin broke over Robin's dark face like a sun rising behind a cloud. Isabella couldn't take her eyes off of Robin's smile as he accepted the items and immediately placed them on his aching feet.

By this time, Zanka had noticed the girl standing silently next to his friend. He remembered her instantly as one of the women from the whorehouse. "Good mornin', miss!" he said with the same smile Jack had reserved for her down by the gangplank. "What be yuh name?"

"Isabella," the girl said quickly after Robin had noticed her staring. She accepted the hand Zanka offered. "But I rather go by-"

"What in Jesus Christ's name is this?"

All three turned to face Joshamee Gibbs, who was staring at Isabella as if she were a plague.

"What's wrong, Mr. Gibbs?" Robin inquired. He wondered if the old first mate shared Robin's same disgust of prostitutes.

"Terrible bad luck to have a woman on board!" Gibbs said loudly enough for several passerbies to glance at him and then roll their eyes. They've all heard this before.

"Ah, but Mr. Gibbs, Izzy is only a girl. Not yet a woman," Jack interjected from behind the portly man.

"Excuse me, but I am a lady," Isabella corrected hotly.

Robin and Zanka glanced at each other once before snorting.

"Sure you are, _Izzy_," Robin sneered.

Jack strode over to Robin and smacked him sharply on the back of the head. "Besides," Jack said over the stream of curses Robin threw at him. "The Pearl needs another cabin boy. On that note"-he turned to Isabella and held out his hand-"the map, if you please, love."

Isabella nodded and gave the map over to the captain. "Where will I stay?" she asked hesitantly.

Jack smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry at the moment, darling. I'm sure we can make arrangements later. In the mean time, as the young whelp over here and I must discuss matters of great importance, Zanka here will show you around." With a flourishing bow, Jack departed from the party, and after shooting Isabella a glowering look, Robin reluctantly followed.

"_Why_ are you still allowing her to stay on the ship, captain?" Robin demanded as he burst into Jack's cabin. "We have the map back! Can't you just order her back into town?"

"Like I had done with you yesterday?" Jack retorted sharply.

Robin immediately fell silent.

Jack leaned forward and placed the palms of his hands on the spread out maps lying on his writing desk. He fixed, not a stern look, but an amused one on Robin. "Now, what do ye have against her, lad? Ye barely know the wench," Jack pointed out.

"She's a prostitute. What more do I need to know?" Robin defended himself.

Eyebrows skeptically raised, Jack asked him what was wrong with that. "Are not whores entitled to make and live a life? Frankly, they serve a good service to all men everywhere," Jack said wistfully. But Jack saw that the boy would not soften his view so easily. An idea popped in his mind. "We need to correct this stormy attitude immediately if I am to keep sane until we drop Izzy at another port. Until then, I want _you_ to keep a close watch on the lass and teach her the ropes to bein' a cabin boy. On top of that"-he held up a hand to silence the protest threatening to come from the appalled boy-"you will also teach her the art of swordsmanship. She needs to be shown how to defend herself if ever we make or come across a raid. Savvy?"

Robin's jaw dropped as his head reeled. All ready, he can predict this would be a particularly long journey until "Izzy" leaves the next time they make port.


	14. Trouble on the Ship

Joshamee Gibbs was getting on with his years. His beard, once grey, was completely white now, and a few white wisps ran through his oily black hair. Gibbs was still as strong as an ox, but from the weathered lines on his tan face, the sea was taking its toll on the old man. Yet, as the first mate shouted down rough orders from the helm in his captain's place that morning in Tortuga, he felt as young as a boy.

"Mr. Gibbs!" cried the high-pitched voice of Marty from the main deck.

Gibbs walked up to the balcony railing and found the dwarf perched on a sealed barrel. "Aye, sir! What be our status?" Gibbs shouted down to him.

"Both anchors are raised and secured! She is ready to ship off!"

The portly pirate turned to Cotton, who stood in his customary place behind the great steering wheel. "Take her away, Mr. Cotton!" Gibbs ordered.

The colorful parrot perched on the old mute's shoulder bobbed its head and saluted with its wing. "_Rawk!_ Take her away!" it repeated.

Gibbs left the helm in Cotton's charge and set off to the captain's quarters. When he entered through the double doors, he came upon a heated debate between his captain and the cabin boy.

"I tell you, if we go that way, we'll be blown off course for sure by the Trade Winds!" Robin was saying.

Jack waved a ringed finger underneath the boy's flared nostrils. "Ah, and if we go your way, we'll find ourselves taking much longer to get there and find ourselves amongst the native cannibals," he said with a mocking ease and patience experience has given him. Jack caught Gibbs' eye over Robin's shoulder and straightened up. "What is it, Mr. Gibbs?" Jack asked.

"The Pearl's setting sail as we speak, captain," Gibbs said quickly.

"Good." Jack looked at Robin. "I, being a much more experienced sailor than you, am so entitled to entirely and inconspicuously obligate myself to first listen to my own opinion in this matter. Now, if you'll excuse me," Jack said as he stepped out from behind his writing desk, "I have a ship to see to."

Robin blinked confusedly for a moment before he quickly regained himself and scurried after Jack and his first mate. "Now, wait a bloody minute! It is my map, so I-"

Jack's hand quickly closed over the boy's mouth, silencing him effectively despite the latter's muffled protests. With a nod to Gibbs, Jack dragged Robin back into the office with Gibbs following and shutting the doors tightly behind them. Only after they were inside did Jack let go of Robin.

"What was that about?" Robin demanded angrily. But with one identically stern look from both men, the boy's color drained out of his face. "What?" he asked nervously.

Jack looked hard at his cabin boy. "Do you understand what you almost did out there?" he asked quietly.

Almost scared out of his wits with this seriousness in which his father was regarding him, Robin turned to Gibbs for an explanation.

The old first mate had a dark look upon him as he regarded the boy. "Bad luck to be talkin' aloud about any sorts of treasure among this particular crew, lad," he warned.

"Why not?" Robin asked blankly. "Don't they need to know where we are-?"

"Don't get smart with us, boy," Jack cut him off shortly. He held up two fingers. "There are two kinds of pirates in this world. There are those who are men of honor; who stick to the Code. You've had the grace to have been among them fer most o' yer life. But then, there are those who are the scum of the scum who won't hesitate to cut yer throat without any regard to the Code. Unfortunately, me ship has been overrun with many o' the latter. Ye can trust Marty and maybe Mr. Cotton. I've been iffy about him for a while . . ."

"Anyways," Mr. Gibbs cut Jack off before he could ramble. "Point is, if those cut-throats get wind of a treasure such as the Mermaid's Tear, we'd not only be facing sure mutiny but the bad end of the sword. Got that, lad? We don't want any word to leak to anyone's ears as to where we're going and why."

"But, mum told me that the whole crew has to take a vote on where the ship will be headed to," Robin protested. "What are you going to tell them, if you haven't said anything already?"

Jack made a crooked grin at this even as he flinched. He admired his cabin boy's wide-eyed caution, but quite frankly, Jack preferred that his illegitimate son not talk out loud about his mother. For a moment, Jack's eyes strayed towards the golden necklace hanging openly around Robin's neck before he cleared his throat. "I've told the men that we head towards one of old Captain Kidd's infamous hidden treasure spots," he explained.

Robin, who had actually broken a slight nervous sweat during this whole thing, nodded, but doubts still persisted in the back of his head. Jack suddenly clapped a hand on Robin's shoulder, making the boy jump a foot high. But it was only a show of Jack's good mood coming back.

"See, Mr. Gibbs? Nothin' to worry about," Jack said lightly. "And you were so worried he'd spill the beans."

Robin gaped at the captain as they made their way outside again. The doubts that still ran through his head still persisted. When the men find out they're not going on a treasure hunt for Captain Kidd's treasure, what was Jack going to tell them then? They'd surely be in a midst of a mutiny for lying to the men. How could Jack just act so carefree even when he knew that he could face mutiny again on his ship? Robin, for one, was terrified at the thought.

_But what kind of captain would he be if he showed his fear so easily? You have to be more like your father_, said a small voice in the back of his head. _You have to prove to him that you can follow in his footsteps and make him feel proud about having you as his son. You've got to make your mother proud._

The small voice was right. Robin's face burned with self-inflicted embarrassment. He would just have to guard his tongue better and hide his fears as his father obviously has done.

"Ah, Marty!" Jack exclaimed as the dwarf came up to him with a bucket full of water and a dirty cloth. Jack took both items from the dwarf and thrust them into Robin's stomach, almost knocking the wind out of him. "Here boy," Jack said lightly. "Help swab the deck. Think of this as a long lesson of the _tolerance_ we spoke of a while ago in me cabin." Jack left chuckling, soon followed by Gibbs who patted Robin's shoulder reassuringly as he passed.

As Robin regained his composure, he heard the distinctly loud sound of someone being slapped. Robin found Zanka next to the hatch leading deeper into the ship, holding his left face, wide-eyed and shocked. Out of the corner of Robin's eye, he saw Isabella storming angrily towards the helm.

Robin looked at Zanka again with an eyebrow raised. "I don't want to know, mate," he said. Robin was not in the mood to stir up more trouble on Zanka's behalf again. He was particularly loathed to be on Jack Sparrow's bad side, especially when he was just back on the Pearl. Yet, as the thought passed through his mind, Robin suddenly received a hard kick to his buttocks that sent him sprawling on the newly-scrubbed floor, face first. Amidst his groans, he distinctly heard a familiar reedy voice growl, "_Cabin boy_."

Robin rolled onto his back and cracked open his eyes. His forehead was smarting. Robin watched furiously as Adder spat at his feet before walking away and disappearing behind the main mast to the other side of the ship where Robin assumed he was going. Zanka's face appeared over Robin's, worried and frightened.

"Ya alright, mon?" he asked as he helped the younger boy back on his feet. The noon light shined on Robin's face, and Zanka winced a bit when he caught sight of the angry red spot on Robin's forehead. He whistled. "Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark for a while."

Robin subconsciously rubbed his forehead and then immediately wished he hadn't when the spot began to pound painfully. He let out a stream of curses underneath his breath. He bent down and picked up the rag and bucket.

"Hey, where be ya going?" curiously questioned Zanka as he stood back and watched Robin starting towards the place where they had last seen Adder.

Robin's angry voice traveled back to the tall Jamaican native. "I'm going to trip up that salty git!" Robin found Adder immediately after rounding the large main mast. The thin, yellow-eyed pirate was between two of the tied longboats. He was adjusting the ropes to make them tighter. On either side of him were two other pirates who were helping. One resembled a tree stump and another was tall as Adder but with a missing lower-half of his left arm. Robin ducked behind someone tying a line of the rigging to a peg. When Adder switched positions with the stumpy pirate, Robin hastily tipped the water from the bucket onto the floor behind Adder and threw himself behind the pirate's legs. Head bent very low to conceal his face, he began to vigorously scrub the floor as he waited for Adder to fall over him.

As Robin waited, he happened to notice the tone of voice that the pirates were using. It was a suspiciously hushed sort of tone. From the sounds of it, the topic they were discussing seemed very remote to Robin; as if the pirates were trying to take every precaution so they were not overheard. Robin now realized how isolated these three men were from the rest of the busy crew. When he chanced to steal a glance up at the trio, he could see they not tightening the ropes as he had first assumed. They were merely untying and retying the knots of rope just to seem busy. Robin strained his ears to listen, hidden behind Adder's legs.

"-ye think Sparrow could be lyin' 'bout the treasure?" the stumpy pirate asked fervently. Adder must have sent him a look because Robin saw the stumpy pirate flinch. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Arr, best not to wonder aloud in present comp'ny, Ceppo," the one-armed pirate warned.

"Aye," Adder growled. Through his stringy grey hair, his yellow eyes warily eyed those closest to their little group before he continued. "Manchot's got it right. I want no word from either o' ye two bilge-rats talkin' 'bout the map. Don't want any stir o' trouble 'fore wi get to the destination."

"Do ye think Sparrow's really takin' us to the Mermaid's Tear, Adder?" Ceppo couldn't help blurting. The short pirate seemed to be having a sort of seizure caused by his excitement. His left eye was twitching and his sore-filled mouth was contorted in a horrible grin.

Adder swiftly clapped the shorter pirate on the back of the head, to which the latter howled in pain. "Belay that, else I'll cut ye from the knave to the chops while ye be sleepin'! If Sparrow gets wind o' wot we're doin', he'll keelhaul all o' us! Nothing, and I say _nothing_, will stop me from takin' o'er this ship and gainin' a fortune o' a lifetime!" he hissed low. "Alls wi gotta do is wait fer the opportune moment."

"And tha'd be?" Ceppo asked confusedly.

However, Robin never found out when that moment would be because all of a sudden, his nose began to massively tingle. He wrinkled his nose, hoping to vainly stop the inevitable. Robin dropped the dirty rag and clamped down on his nose as he began to sneeze. The effect produced his ear drums to feel as if they were popping and his eyes to bulge from their sockets. While Robin wasn't heard by Adder, he attracted the attention of the pirate Ceppo, who now spotted Robin since he was no longer behind the protection of Adder's legs.

"'Ey boy, wot're ye doing 'hind Adder? Scram if ye know wot's good fer ye!" Ceppo threatened.

"Wha's this?" To Robin's horror, Adder swung around. Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second before Adder swiftly bent down, grabbed Robin by his cotton shirt, and hauled him roughly onto his feet. Robin scrunched his face tightly as Adder's horrible breath fell on his face. The next thing he knew, Robin was pushed hard into the main mast. His tip-toes barely brushed the wooden deck.

"Cabin boys should mind thar own businesses," Adder growled softly enough so that only Robin could hear. Behind him, the pirates Ceppo and Manchot watched with both apprehension and bloodlust in their eyes. It was obvious by the former that a part of them were as scared of Adder as Robin was.

Yet, when Robin felt like his life was in the precarious balance, he somehow found the courage to look bravely into those yellow eyes and smirk mockingly. "Why? Got something to hide, yellow eyes?" he taunted.

Adder gave Robin a good shake that felt like his brain was rattling. "Me thinks yer ears are not workin' properly," he said with rising anger eminent in his tone.

Robin wrinkled his nose and waved his hand underneath his nose. "Yeah, well, too bad my nose is unfortunately working just fine. Whew!" he exclaimed.

Ceppo laughed at this, causing Robin's look to turn smugger and Adder's usually pale face to turn a blotchy red.

"Adder, hold yer damn temper," Manchot said.

"Impudence!" Adder roared despite the warning.

As Robin saw the fist rising, he quickly kicked out and contacted with Adder's thin gut. The grip on him crippled and he felt his feet fall flat onto the ground. With one might shove, Robin rid himself from Adder and took a few leaping steps away before turning around to face the irate pirate.

Throughout this whole exchange, the previous dulled interest of the crew on the main deck had been stirred and directed towards them. Shouts erupted as the pirate and the cabin boy drew out their cutlasses and began to circle each other.

* * *

"But aren't you one of the nine pirate lords?" Isabella asked blankly. She stood beside Captain 

Jack Sparrow on the helm behind the great steering wheel which the captain was currently navigating. Standing slightly behind him was Cotton and his parrot.

Jack grinned proudly. "'Course I am, Izzy. But tha' doesn't mean I'm less of a fugitive of the law than any other man o' fortune," he told her.

"Jack!"

Both Isabella and Jack turned their heads towards the balcony banister of the helm where Joshamee Gibbs stood with one hand tightly holding onto the rail. The first mate looked visibly shaken up. His brow shined with drops of nervous sweat. With his other hand, he was pointing down to a spot below.

Jack stepped away from the wheel. "What is it, Mr. Gibbs?" he demanded. Jack didn't know if he could take any more of his first mate's superstitions.

"Thar be a stir in the men in the main deck!" Gibbs exclaimed.

Isabella turned a worried face towards the captain, but to her surprise, Jack merely looked more aggrieved and annoyed than concerned by this news. Jack rolled his eyes, muttering about the incompetence of his men. He looked at Isabella. "Ye might wanna take a step back," he told her before he grabbed his pistol from its holster, lifted it, and then took a shot.

Silence descended upon the main deck as Jack, Gibbs, and Isabella parted the crowd towards its focal point.

"Oh, you've got to be pullin' me leg," Jack said exasperatedly as he stopped just inside the small circle the men had provided for the center of their attention. Jack thrust his pistol into Gibbs' hands and took Gibbs' own pistol before pointing it at Robin and Adder. "We've barely made sail, and you two are at it _again_?" Jack roared. He noticed they still were pointing their blades at each other. "Put those bloody things away before I lock ye two in the brig!" he ordered.

Warily, they did so.

"To make sure neither o' you bring upon me ship more trouble by yer petty squabbles, I'm making sure both o' you never see each other. You, ye slimy git," he told Adder. "From now on, yer to work down in the galley with the cook and his assistant for the duration of this voyage. And _you_-"

Jack glared fiercely at Robin the most. The boy actually took a frightened step back at the intensity of his captain's gaze mixed with the end of the pistol pointed at his head. "In addition to yer cabin boy duties, you will be up in the crow's nest for the night shift," Jack told Robin in a stony tone that was not to be argued with. Jack looked around at the men crowding them. He waved his arms wildly. "Side-show's over, people! Get back to yer stations!"

"Well, ye heard the captain!" Gibbs shouted. "Back to your stations!"

"Oh, and Mr. Adder," Jack called into the pirate's retreating back once everyone was beginning to move. "Yer arse on me ship is gone the next time we make port!" Jack turned away from Adder, away just when Adder muttered a stream of oaths and gave him a murderous look before going towards the hatch.

Yet, Robin saw this and hurried towards the captain. "Jack, I-"

"Save yer alibis, boy," Jack said coldly. Robin flinched as if he had been hit. "You've caused enough trouble on me ship."

"But you don't understand," Robin pleaded. "He, Adder, and two other pirates named Ceppo and Manchot were plotting against you!"

Jack gave Robin a fake surprised look and threw up his hands in the air. "Oh, _really_ now? When hasn't a man on me ship plotted a mutiny against me, pray tell?" he snorted. "Why do ye think I told that git I'm shipping him off into the next port we dock at?"

Robin didn't have time to properly register his surprise. He leaned closer to Jack. "But they know about the Mermaid's Tear and the map!" he whispered fiercely.

Jack curved the upper half of his body away from Robin with a contemplative look. "So they do," he murmured more to himself. Jack looked down at Robin and saw the worry behind those dark brown eyes. Jack quickly looked away from Emelia Kraven's eyes. "That's not a matter for the likes of a cabin boy," Jack told him stonily. "Get back to work or it'll be the brig for you. Don't think I won't! You may be yer mother's son, but that's the reason why I'm considering locking you down there!" Jack spun on his heel and headed towards the helm, leaving Robin hurt, confused, and frustrated.

"Things can't get any worse," he muttered angrily.

Isabella suddenly appeared before him where Jack had previously been. Robin noticed her eyes right away. Her blue eyes were alight with both triumph and some sort of other emotion that brought out a twinkle in those orbs.

"What do _you_ want?" Robin growled, clenching his fists. "Liked the show, did you, _Izzy_?"

Isabella's blue eyes first surveyed the narrow line of blood that was trickling down Robin's split lip before they returned to the boy's dark brown eyes. She glared at him, but the corners of her lips twitched into a smirk. "Despite your predictions, and those of Mr. Gibbs, it seems I'm not the one who will bring trouble on this ship nor will I bring bad luck," she told Robin. "Frankly, I don't know _why_ Captain Sparrow is still keeping you here."

Robin fought the urge to punch her lights out. "You don't know anything!" he told her.

Isabella smiled mysteriously. "But sooner or later I will," she sang before flouncing off after Jack Sparrow.

Robin swung around and threw himself against the ship railing. He stared angrily into the blue ocean waves. "I won't let you," he said into the air.


	15. Failed Lessons on Being Nice

Robin and Isabella didn't speak again until the afternoon, when they were miles away from Tortuga.

"Captain Sparrow orders you to give me lessons in sword fighting since I don't know how," Isabella told the cabin boy.

Robin sat back on his legs and looked at her with a hard expression. "You've got to be kidding me," he said. "That man's mad."

Isabella rocked back and forth on her feet with her hands idly on her hips. "Sometimes he seems like it," she admitted with a small smile. "But you've got to admit, he's bloody brilliant. Captain Jack Sparrow has the reputation for his brilliance, you know."

Robin scowled darkly. "Of course I know how brilliant he is! After all, he is-" Robin caught himself just in time before damage could be done.

Isabella cocked her head to the side slightly with curiosity. "He's what?" she questioned. She watched Robin drop the dirty rag in his hands and get onto his feet.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Robin waved her question away as if it were a nuisance. "I'm getting to the damn bottom of this." Robin, with Isabella closely in tow, made way towards the helm where the captain and his first mate had been since his fight with Adder. "Captain," Robin called as he emerged from the top of the stairs.

Jack barely gave the boy a glance. "Floors finally clean, I presume?" he asked carelessly, as if he didn't know what was coming.

"Captain, what is Izzy talking about with me giving her sword lessons?" Robin demanded as he stopped right beside his father. "Why can't _you_ give them to her?"

Jack decided to look at Robin then. "Because I frankly don't have the time for something as important as that," he said. "Besides-" Jack stepped away from the steering wheel to allow Gibbs to take it in his stead. Meanwhile, Isabella had mysteriously disappeared. "Besides, this would be a good opportunity for the both of you to learn. From each other," Jack added with a grin.

Robin stared blankly at the mad captain before he sighed heavily. "Really, what is the _real_ reason why I am teaching her to use a sword and not you?" he asked wearily.

Jack nodded. He placed a hand on Robin's back and led him off to the side of the helm. "Look lad," Jack said quietly. "Being born from two infamous pirates, you know how difficult and dangerous it can be on the high seas. Izzy still doesn't completely comprehend that living at sea is very different from living on land. You know this. You know about the trouble between the pirates and the Royal Navy. And I am confident that you know how to handle yourself if ever there was a raid by another pirate ship."

Robin tried to let these subtle praises sink in as fast as Jack Sparrow was handing them out, but he found that he was becoming dizzy and exhilarated by not only the acknowledgement of what he knew, but of Jack's openly spoken words of Robin's heritage. "And so, you want me to teach Izzy how to handle the sword just in case we're attacked?" Robin made sure after he had taken a couple of deep breaths to clear his head. But it was not only his head that was troubling him. His heart was beating fast like a drum.

Jack stood up straight and clapped a jovial hand on Robin's back, nearly knocking the unsuspecting boy off-balance. "Good boy," Jack exclaimed fondly. "Knew you took some of my smart genes." Jack realized what he had just said and the initial pride on his face quickly flew away and a closed expression took its place. The captain took a large step away from his cabin boy and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Now, I expect you to start yer lesson as soon as possible," Jack finished before he turned sharply around and walked back to the steering wheel.

There was silence between the two men for a moment as Robin slowly went down the stairs. Gibbs finally broke it. "First, you were mad as hell with the lad. Now, yer exchanging words like a father would to a son. What are you now, Jack?" the first mate asked half-seriously and half-jokingly.

Jack Sparrow looked off to the side and watched the gentle waves of the vast ocean around his beloved ship. "A confused man, Mr. Gibbs," he said softly.

"Well?" Isabella asked when Robin had reached the bottom of the stairs. She was sitting on the last step with her face perched in her hands in a bored gesture.

"Report to the main deck after dinner tonight so we can start," Robin said, shortly before he left her there. "That is, unless you're scared of being out at night," he couldn't help adding over his shoulder. He needed to be alone. He needed to think about the encounter he just had with his father.

Isabella was there on the main deck right after dinner. In fact, she was the first one to arrive and so was waiting for Robin on one of the empty crates lying around the deck. If Robin seemed surprised about seeing Isabella waiting for him, he hid it well as he handed her a spare cutlass he had managed to borrow from Marty - after apologizing profusely for yelling at him. With a gesture, Robin led Isabella towards the bow of the ship where there was more space to move around.

"Alright, let's start," Robin told her. He motioned for her to stand in front of him. As Isabella did so, the ship suddenly rocked to one side. While Robin managed to easily keep from falling by evenly spreading his legs, his pupil was not so fortunate.

"First lesson," Robin announced as Isabella shakily got back onto her feet, "is finding your center of balance. If a person's lucky, they are born with excellent balance, but for those who aren't as lucky . . ." Robin trailed away as his eyes focused on Isabella, who glared at him at the insult.

"It's hard to have a 'center of balance' when you're on a constantly moving ship," she said defensively.

Robin conceded with a nod. That was very understandable. "Yes, I agree. When I was beginning to learn, my mother first taught me how to use a sword on an open field before she gradually moved me onto other landscapes," Robin said. Then, he admitted humbly, "I've not been long on a ship, so I'm almost as a novice as you are where balance is concerned."

Isabella was slightly mollified by this confession, but it was the mention of Robin's mother which piqued her interest. "Your mother taught you how to use a sword?" There was surprise and even a hint of jealousy in her tone.

Just as his father hand done when the topic of his family was discussed, Robin's expression became closed. "Yes," he said shortly.

However, Isabella did not take the hint.

"She must have been a pirate, then," she persisted. Pure, innocent excitement grew with each word. "She must have been wonderful!"

"I heard so as well," Robin muttered underneath his breath.

"Is she still active?"

Although this question threw Robin off, he was quick to recover "No," he said coldly. "She stopped being one when she knew she was with child. With _me_."

This time, Isabella heard the warning clearly and immediately fell silent.

After he took a moment to recollect himself, Robin began to teaching Isabella how to stand, how to move her feet and sword, and how to use her small size as her advantage. Although Robin was a diligent and good teacher, because Isabella had been the one to naively open up the chest of painfully suppressed feelings, she took the full brunt of Robin's self-fury.

"Really. For someone who's grown up in Tortuga, you're rather horrible with the sword." Robin mocked her persistently on the manner of her upbringing as they parried. Or, Robin parried while the poor girl did her best to block the onslaught. When she tripped backwards because of her rising anger, Robin cruelly added, "Didn't those pirates sleeping with the whores _show_ you anything?"

Whether or not that last comment was supposed to be taken sexually or not, Isabella thought it was. She blocked Robin's downward thrust, and then with her free hand, she slapped him with all the strength she had left.

"That's bloody it!" Isabella screamed as Robin lurched away from her in pain. "I don't need to be taught by the petty likes of you! I'll teach myself!" she exclaimed.

Robin swiveled around to face her. The red mark she had given him was very prominent on his face. "Fine!" Robin shouted. "Leave, _Izzy_!"

"Fine!" Isabella screamed before she stomped towards the hatch.

"Fine!" Robin yelled back, just to get the last word.

* * *

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Oh, for the love of _God_," Jack Sparrow groaned as he rubbed his temples. He swayed over to the helm railing and learned forward heavily on it. "Stranded on a godforsaken island! The Krakken! Ye could have sent me anythin' but those two!"

Gibbs appeared next to him with a bottle of rum in hand which Jack immediately grabbed and downed. "Shouldn't you stop them, captain?" Gibbs asked with concern as the pair of voices grew in volume and ferocity.

For a moment, the two men looked down to where the boy and girl were currently arguing about how to best tie a knot. Jack and Gibbs watched as Marty came up to the fighting pair in an attempt to break them up, but the dwarf ended up getting shouted down for interfering.

Gibbs and Jack turned to each other. Jack jabbed his thumb towards the bitterly bickering pair. "I should think not. It'll end soon enough. Just as it has been for the last three days," Jack slurred before he took another grateful swig of rum. The drink's calming effects were very welcomed by him.

Gibbs turned back to the railing. For a few moments, he watched the pair down below before saying out loud, "Master Robin hasn't been giving the lass lessons for those three days now, Jack."

Jack looked at his first mate oddly for calling the boy "Master" but decided to let it pass. "I know," he said simply.

Gibbs looked up at him inquiringly.

"Thought I'd give 'em some time." Jack shrugged. "Obviously, no amount of time could settle their differences. Water and wine, they are," he commented wryly.

Gibbs cracked a small smile. "Reminds me o' you and Emelia," the old first mate said with fondness.

Jack, however, looked incensed by that comment. "No, this is worse by far," he groaned. "At least I openly admitted my fancy for Emelia. That dullard who calls himself me son happens to take from his mother's stubborn side. I have _nothing_ whatsoever to do with him bein' a blockhead." Jack crossed himself to make his point.

Gibbs chortled into the bottle of rum he had snuck from Jack. "So, thinks you that those two fancy each other, then?" Gibbs indicated to Robin and Isabella. The boy was storming angrily away from the girl at that moment.

"It's plainly obvious Izzy is head o'er heels for the whelp," snorted Jack as he observed Isabella watching Robin's retreating back. "But like I said before, that boy takes his heart from his mother."

Gibbs immediately went on Em's defense. "Now Jack, Emelia Kraven was one of the bravest and big-hearted women of the rest! You can't say she didn't give into you when she realized where her heart lay," Gibbs insisted. When he saw the small smile on his captain's lips, his heart lifted and he was encouraged. "Besides," Gibbs added gently, "the boy's not all like his mam if he's tryin' this hard to have your approval and acknowledgement."

Shortly after, Jack left with the excuse of grabbing more rum from the cargo hold. Jack didn't think he could handle opening the confusing labyrinth of his otherwise closed heart.

Yet, the current object in the middle of Jack's labyrinth happened to be in the rum cellar, aimlessly wandering around the dank and dark room.

"How did ye get in here?" Jack asked in bewilderment. It was common knowledge that he kept the door to the cellar locked and the key on his person at all times.

Robin didn't seem very surprised to see Jack in the rum cellar. The boy shoved his calloused hands deep into his pockets. "I picked the lock," he said simply as he made room for Jack in front of the rum storage. Robin saw the grin on Jack's face and asked what the matter was.

"Oh, nothing," Jack said idly when actually he was quite proud of this boy's lock picking skill. Then, as he was picking a bottle of rum, out of nowhere, he asked Robin why he had stopped his lessons with Isabella. "I've been hearing her practice by herself for the last three nights," Jack noted as he slid a bottle out from its storage place and into his hand. He turned around and spotted the boy sitting on one of the large crates, hunched over. With a second's hesitation, Jack joined him on the crate. "But, I believe you've also heard her practicing, high up in the crow's nest," Jack continued with a pointed look which Robin did not see.

Robin's unruly dark head bobbed up and down. "She's quite good," he said more to himself than Jack. Unbeknownst to him, Jack's still-present grin widened knowingly. However, it didn't last long because Robin said, "I accidently let it slip to her about mum."

Jack paled underneath the thin light of the lantern above. "What did you tell her, exactly?" he asked with a held breath.

Robin lifted his head and looked at his father. The tortured look on the young boy's face sent a small tug in Jack's heart. Robin looked as if he was apologizing to Jack for letting talking of his mother slip. "I only told her that my mother was the one who taught me how to use a sword," Robin confessed sadly. His heart felt like a lead weight in his chest. "Izzy concluded that she was a pirate." Robin took a shaky breath. "Then, when Izzy wondered if mum was still a pirate, I said . . ." Robin trailed off and hung his head in shame.

"You said no," Jack answered with a heavy finality in his voice. He let out the breath he had been holding.

Robin nodded. "Then, I got angry with myself and took it on her," he added in a small voice. He wondered how mad Jack will be of him this time. But to Robin's relief and surprise, Jack wasn't all that angry. Robin was surprised even more when his father flung an arm around his shoulders, although, Jack didn't seem to notice he had done this.

"Don't worry 'bout Izzy, lad. She'll come around. Sooner than ye think," Jack said assuringly before he took a long drink from the bottle of rum.

Robin made a skeptical sound with the back of his throat. "How are you so sure? She's still mad at me." Robin said this so hopelessly that Jack and Gibbs' earlier suspicions were confirmed that instant.

Jack slid his arm off of his son and gave it a friendly pat. "Do ye want me advice, Robin?" he asked.

Robin's head slowly rose with disbelief on his face. "Sure," he said hesitantly. Did his father just say what Robin thought he said?

Jack held up a finger. "The guaranteed way to wooing a woman?" Jack moved his head closer to Robin's. This time, the boy did not recoil from Jack's breath. "_Be nice to her._"


	16. The Mermaid Song

Robin left Jack in the rum cellar shortly after receiving his father's piece of advice. Robin decided to return later that night to the rum cellar just to steal a bottle for himself. Now, Robin wasn't as grand of a drinker as his parents were, but on lonely nights like this particular one, it didn't seem too late to start that family tradition.

On the empty main deck, Robin sat at the bow of the Pearl under the pale moonlight, drinking rum just as his mother had been nearly a decade and a half ago. Robin grinned happily at the thought. However, deep inside, Robin felt conflicted. Was he more like Emelia Kraven than anyone had realized? Than _he_ had realized?

A loud creak from behind nearly made him choke in his rum bottle. Robin whipped his head around. The action almost dislodged him from where he precariously sat on the ledge of the bow with one foot dangling over the said ledge. "Who's there?" Robin's wide eyes vainly searched through the lurking shadows. He unsteadily got to his feet. "Show yourself!" he demanded.

Robin saw a moving figure among the shadows near one of the closest longboats out of the corner of his eye. Was it Adder, come to try to finish him off while everyone was asleep? The boy's stomach lurched. He now wished dearly that he hadn't left his cutlass up in the crow's nest. But whoever it was didn't know that. . . "I have a sword! And I'm not afraid to cut you down with it, either," he said with more bravery than he felt.

The figure chose to step out from the shadows. Out appeared Isabella. Her blue eyes immediately went to Robin's waist. "You don't have you sword," she stated. Relief was very evident in her voice.

Robin's shoulders relaxed and he sighed with relief. "Blimey, Izzy. You scared the living daylights outta me," he laughed weakly. He sat back onto the bow ledge but still faced the newcomer. As if she'd morph into Adder if he had his back turned. Robin was slightly disappointed to find that his previous drunken stupor was almost gone from the scare Isabella had given him. Robin looked down into the bottle he held. Then again, the rum bottle _was_ still half-full. He took a long swig.

In that time, Isabella had decided upon herself to take a seat next to him on the bow. Without his permission, she took the rum bottle from him and downed it.

"So, what are you doing up?" Robin slurred, not in the least ruffled by her taking his drink. He smiled stupidly at her when she looked at him. The spicy liquid made him feel really warm and fuzzy inside.

And Isabella noticed this attitude in him also. She couldn't help but smile. But it was only a little one. "I couldn't sleep," Isabella said dismissively. Unlike Robin, she knew how to hold her rum well.

Robin bobbed his head. There was a pause. "I've watched you practice, you know," he suddenly said.

Isabella started. "You have?" she asked incredulously.

Robin pointed up at the crow's nest. "From up there," he explained. "Jack made me take the night watch, remember?"

"Yes. I recall so," Isabella said quietly. "That was a bit harsh of him to."  
Robin shrugged. "It's alright. Actually, it's fun having the ship to myself," he added. Before he could stop himself, Robin blurted, "You're quite good. At sword fighting, I mean."

Isabella suddenly blushed violently from the unexpected compliment. Her face looked as if it had caught on fire. She gingerly placed her fingertips on her flaming cheeks and turned away from the drunken boy. "U-Um, thank you," she stuttered. Then, she surprised herself by saying out loud, "I've never really received a nice compliment from a boy before." She slapped a hand over her mouth.

Robin burst out laughing. "I've never really sat and talked with a girl before," he managed to say between gasps of breaths. He didn't know why he told her that, but Robin just felt like he needed her to not be clammed up around him. It seems that's all he's ever seen her as. His father's advice to him rang loud and clear. Well, wasn't being nice to her was what he was doing now? "I was too much of a troublemaker back home to have time to talk to girls," he added.

Isabella heard the lingering regret in his tone and felt herself being drawn to the boy's past as she had three nights ago. "Was your father mad about you being a troublemaker?" she asked gently.

Robin grabbed hold onto a rope line that stretched from the bow up to the foremast when he began to sway slightly. He looked away from Isabella's inquiring eyes towards the bust of the crying angel before them. Since when did this conversation turn gloomy? "My father was never around." Robin laughed forlornly. "Actually, I didn't grow up with my father at all."

Isabella threw the empty bottle of rum out to sea before she placed her hands on the ledge to keep her balance. "Well, at least you grew up with _one_ of your parents. I grew up with neither of them," she told him as a matter-of-factly. "They left me there to fend for myself," she added with a hardness in her tone.

Robin turned to her and stared. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

Isabella furiously blinked away the tears forming along her eyelids. "I'm better off without them," she said peevishly. "If they were willing to leave me in that godforsaken place, then they were not cut out to be parents of any child," she reasoned.

"Well, my father is not like that," Robin said. _Or is he?_ a voice the back of his mind asked him. He saw Isabella raised her eyebrows skeptically and explained. "My mother left him when she found out she was with child, so she never gave my father the chance to _be_ a father. It's not his fault." A part of Robin felt like he was arguing with himself on this one, rather than trying to convince Isabella that Jack Sparrow can indeed be a father to him - even if she didn't know it.

Isabella still wasn't convinced. "Pirates don't make into good parents," she pointed out.

"My mother was a pirate," Robin quickly countered. _She gave up piracy for me, after all._ But Robin chose not to tell Isabella that. "My mother also happens to have been one of the most infamous women pirate in the Caribbean," he boasted. Robin took his golden necklace from underneath his shirt and showed it to Isabella. "She gave me this necklace. My mum had given this to my father and he had given this back to her the last time they saw each other," he explained as he leaned forward to let Isabella hold the little bird pendant.

"That's romantic," Isabella breathed as she held the eternally soaring bird in her palm. It was still warm from its contact with Robin's skin. Her thumb went over the tiny silver bell in the bird's beak. She let it drop back onto Robin's chest and looked up into his eyes. Isabella noticed just then how close those dark brown eyes were to her own.

Robin turned his head to the right slightly. He touched the gold ring at the top of his left ear cartilage. "My mum also gave this to me," he said. Robin smiled reminiscently.

Isabella reached up to also touch the piece. "You must really care for her," she said quietly. As she did so, her fingers accidently brushed Robin's fingers. They both instantly jerked away from each other as if electrocuted.

Robin noticed the dazed look on Isabella's face as he turned his head back towards her. It seemed to mirror how he felt right now. "Izzy?"

Blue eyes focused on his face. "Call me Isabella," she whispered.

"Isabella," Robin repeated. He hadn't noticed before, but he really liked her eyes. They were like a pair of twinkling sapphires. Robin felt like he was drowning in them. Before he knew it, their lips were merely centimeters apart. Suddenly, he blurted, "I like your eyes."

Isabella seemed initially surprised, but she recovered with a wide smile. "Thank you," she said softly as she and Robin began to slowly close the distance between them. Isabella closed her eyes, anticipating her first kiss. However, it was never to happen. For, all of a sudden, Robin closed his own eyes and passed out cold. His body slumped forward and he fell into Isabella's waiting arms.

Isabella's eyes popped wide open. She moved her head slightly to the side and saw the back of Robin's unruly head. His whole head was reclining in the crook of her shoulder. Isabella sighed heavily in dismay. She rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered with annoyance.

Yet, no matter how irked she was with Robin at that moment, she couldn't help it that her heart warmed with the heat coming from his body resting on hers. Isabella encircled the upper part of his body with her arms and moved both of their bodies in a more comfortable position with him still lying on her and his head next to hers.

Isabella began to rock him slowly back and forth as she recalled a song she had remembered ever since she was a baby.

_It was Friday morn when we set sail  
And we were not so far from the land  
When our captain, he spied a mermaid so fair  
With a comb and a glass in her hand_

_  
And up spoke the captain of our gallant ship  
And a fine old man was he  
"This fishy mermaid has warned me of our doom  
We shall sink to the bottom of the sea"_

This was the sight that Jack Sparrow came upon when he rose out from the hatch with a bottle of rum in hand. He looked on at the pair for a moment with a ghost of a knowing smile on his lips. Jack stepped out into the open.

"Well, this is a curious sight," he commented out loud.

The melodious music stopped. Isabella looked at Jack with an embarrassed kind of horror across her face. "Captain," she gasped. She jerked upright and almost dislodged the still-sleeping boy in her arms. "It's not what you think!"

Jack chuckled and winked at her, causing the girl to blush deeper than she already was. "Keep telling yerself that, darling," Jack told her teasingly. Amidst Isabella's protests, Jack turned around. With an idle wave behind him, he left her to deal with his unconscious son.

Isabella huffed. She stiffened when Robin began to stir, but he was only making himself more comfortable against her body. Isabella's arms tightened around him. She inhaled his scent and sighed deeply. Her lyrical voice carried over the sleeping waves like a siren calling all lonely sailors to her.

_And up spoke the cabin boy of our gallant ship  
And a brave lad was he  
"Oh, I have a sweetheart in Plymouth by the sea  
And tonight she'll be weeping for me."_

_  
Oh, the ocean waves do roll  
And the stormy winds do blow  
We old sailors are skipping at the top  
_

_The landlubbers lie down below, below, below  
Oh, the landlubbers lie down below_


	17. Into the Maelstrom

"Captain."

"Yes, Master Robin?"

There was a pause as the boy stared at the man with a raised eyebrow. "Since when did you call-?" Robin changed his mind in favor of what he was already going to say. "Captain, nothing happened between me and Isabella last night." From the strain of his voice, one could suspect that this topic had been discussed even before now.

Smirking, Jack countered, "Define 'nothing' to me, lad."

Robin sighed with frustration. "Why is it so hard to convince you?" he muttered, a comment that was not lost on his captain.

Jack Sparrow turned away from the wheel with one hand still holding onto it. He held up a finger of his free hand. "Or, first o' all, ye should wonder why it is so hard to convince yer own self," he said.

The cabin boy looked at his captain as if he were crazy. "What are you talking about?" Robin exclaimed. "I don't need to convince myself of _anything_."

"Ah, but that's where yer wrong," Jack swiftly interjected. "In order to convince me, you must convince yerrself first. Therefore, for you to accept what you so abstinently reject would, in turn, convince me that somethin' _did_ happen 'tween you two lovebirds last night," Jack finished with a flourishing wave of his hand.

"No, I-I mean, you - but she . . ." Robin's face suddenly burned when he realized what the mad captain had just told him. "_Nothing happened_ between me and Isabella!" he hissed. Robin took an involuntary step back when Jack suddenly took one towards him.

The pirate lowered his face so that he was eye-to-eye with his hard-headed son. "Then, pray tell, why have you so suddenly called Izzy by her full name?" Jack asked seriously. When Robin failed to answer (as his eyes grew wide with realization), a rare genuine smile broke over Jack's face. He clapped Robin's shoulder as he took the wheel again. "Don't take it personally, Robin. I was the on'y one to call yer mother by her full name."

Robin had long ago learned to cherish the moments when Jack Sparrow spoke of his former lover. But this time, the lonely son craved more than a fleeting comment on the past.

"Do you miss her?" The inquiry was quietly said, and almost polite, but a close listener could hear the longing of a child who never had a whole family for himself.

There was a long stretch of silence before Jack at last said, "Every day." Then, as a wicked afterthought, he added, "And every night."

Emelia Kraven's son wisely chose not to comment on that last bit nor show his minor disgust. Instead, he bravely asked his father to return with him back to Barbados when this adventure was finished.

Jack arched an eyebrow high with skepticism - and even a trifle amusedly. "And what have I any business there?" he asked almost idly, but he knew the answer.

Robin looked at him seriously. "To see my mother," he answered somberly.

Jack shook his head disdainfully. "Sorry to break it to ye lad, but I think that seein' dear Emelia and then having to leave her again could kill us both," Jack stated with dry humor. "And I happen to like not bein' tied with a woman who'll painstakingly wait for my return like any other sailor." And what Jack prided among other things was that he was not just any other sailor.

Robin's eyes narrowed - a trait Jack distinctively recognized as one this boy inherited from his mother. "Sorry to break it to you, _Father_, but Emelia Kraven has been 'painstakingly' waiting for you to return to her since the day I was born."

For once, the son had rendered the father speechless. Jack swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat. It was almost painful to smile to hide the hurt Jack already felt. "What would you have me do, son?" Now that he had fully realized what he had been using to call this boy besides all his other names, the word seemed very foreign and almost forbidden to Jack. The father looked closely at his son and saw something in the boy's eyes that nearly unsettled him. There was that too familiar twinkle in those dark brown eyes that definitely had not come from the boy's mother.

"You could live on the land," Robin suggested. Although it came out light, Robin had used every ounce of caution he had just in case it didn't go well with his father.

He wasn't disappointed.

Jack snorted loudly. "Me? A pirate go landlubber?" Jack said incredulously. His tone changed with a sarcastic hint. "Sorry lad, but I've seen enough o' ye to deduce that livin' on land would unhinge me even more. Plus bore me to death," he added.

"It's not that bad sometimes," Robin argued weakly. Too weakly.

This time, both of Jack's eyebrows shot up so that they nearly disappeared from underneath the red bandana he always wore. "Not that bad?" Jack repeated in a tone that made the boy's face turn consciously red. "Then why do ye suppose yer still here and not home with yer mother, eh?" Jack countered.

Another lapse of silence. And then, "We could come to the sea with you." But Jack swiftly crushed that hope.

"No," he said with finality and authority that wasn't to be argued with. "I can't even _begin_ to fathom how many horrors could crop up for the three o' us," he muttered to himself. But the wide-eyed look on his face suggested that Jack did know a few of those horrors, and they were being played over in his mind's eye.

After a while, with Robin searching futilely for an argument, Jack said wistfully, "I was meant to die at sea, son. Nothin' can change that."

Robin looked up at the man quickly. "That doesn't have to be your _only_ fate," he argued, glad to have something to counter with.

Jack laughed ruefully. "Honestly Robin, do you, _can_ you, imagine me livin' on land and _not_ get meself hanged for either bein' a former pirate or by somethin' else of, most likely, my doing?" he demanded.

"They let my mother-"

"She was with child." Jack closed that argument. Then, with a bitter note, he added, "Apparently that excuse is taken everywhere." He side-glanced at the boy and saw the confused look amidst the grime he had acquired since running away from home. "Don't ask," he muttered apologetically.

Robin let the space of three breath takes pass before he said, "You told me that you were destined to die at sea."

Jack nodded, wondering where this was going.

Robin sighed heavily through his nostrils. "Well, I've always heard my mother described like the sea."

Jack didn't answer, and so a lasting silence settled around them. It wasn't an awkward or angry silence, because Jack, first hesitating, reached over towards his son and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

When Robin took the stairs two at a time to the main deck a while later, the first person he met was Isabella. They instantly blushed when their eyes met.

Robin froze on the last step. He awkwardly scratched the top of his head. "G-Good morn, Izzy," he stuttered.

Isabella tilted her head slightly to the side. She bit her bottom lip. "I thought I told you to call me Isabella," she said.

Robin blinked rapidly. "Yes, yes, of course. Sorry. Isabella, right," he said with equal rapidity. Robin's blush deepened when the girl smiled shyly up at him. He stepped off the stairs. In doing so, he and Isabella were even closer to each other.

Then, Robin saw over Isabella's shoulder a glint of what looked like gold. He moved her gently out of the way and took a step towards it, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

Isabella looked at him with bewilderment. "Robin?" she asked.

The boy shook his head before turning back to her. "I thought I saw something," he only said.  
Isabella's smile returned as she stared into his dark brown eyes. It reminded her of last night. She leaned closer to him and whispered for only him to hear, "Do you still like my eyes?"

Robin broke out in a nervous sweat. He leaned back and shook his head vigorously in the affirmative.

Happily, Isabella waved at Robin before walking away.

A call from above alerted Robin. He looked towards the helm and saw the upper-half of Jack's body from above the ledge. "Yes, captain?" he called.

Jack smirked. "Remember lad, women are the ruin o' all great men," he said lightly.

* * *

That night, as has been for the other three nights, Robin watched from high up in the crow's nest as Isabella silently emerged from the hatch with Marty's cutlass in hand. That same day after his small exchange with her, Jack Sparrow had taken Isabella aside and promised to get her a sword of her own just before he dropped her off the next time they made port.

Robin himself was at first filled with excitement for her when she came and told him. However, then he realized, as she already had, that that meant her time on the Pearl was shortening with each passing day. Jack had said it quite often before that they were due to make port very soon, but neither had accepted that the time was drawing so closer.

From his position in the crow's nest, flat on his stomach with his head hanging over the edge, he watched as Isabella unsheathed the cutlass and began to slice the air with the blade. She looked like she was performing some sort of elegant dance under the dark, cloudy sky. The only light Robin saw her under was by the light of the two lanterns burning on either side of the double doors to Jack's cabin. Her body gave life to shadows that danced with her. While it was fun to watch her, Robin couldn't let go of the rising irritation that only came from an experienced swordsman watching a novice. He quietly got to his feet. After strapping his cutlass to his belt, he swung first one leg onto the rope ladder and then the other, and then began to climb down. When he jumped off the last three feet of rope, Isabella's blue eyes were on him. She was smiling.

"Have I woken you?" she teased, but she knew as he knew she did that he had been watching her.  
Robin stepped towards her. "Your form was annoying me dreadfully," he told her in a matter-of-factly tone.

Isabella looked confused. "Form?" she repeated.

Robin nodded and explained. "It's how you hold yourself when you're fighting an opponent. Look-" Robin unsheathed his own cutlass and made a stance with both legs spread evenly apart, bent slightly at the knees, and his free arm up and away from his body. "This is a common stance that could be good either in offense or defense," he told her. "Try it."

Isabella tried but couldn't get it the way Robin's would have liked. He tried hard not to sigh with frustration or let it out in a stream of curses as he sheathed his cutlass and walked over to the struggling girl. "Bad form," he said. He stood behind her. "Here, let me help you." Robin bent down and positioned her legs right before standing up to help her with her arms. Robin placed his hands lightly on her wrists and moved the limbs about. His lips were very close to her ear when he said, "There you go."

Isabella found it hard not to shudder at the unfamiliar feeling of Robin's body pressed close to hers, his arms on her arms with his hands around her small wrists, and his warm breath falling gently over her exposed neck. She almost felt scared of this feeling the boy brought to her. But she also loved it enough to not let it stop. So when Robin felt satisfied enough to let her go and move away, Isabella deliberately messed up her position by shifting her feet and moving her arms awkwardly.

"_No_. Not like that!" Robin said exasperatedly as he moved towards her again. When he had moved her into the stance again, Isabella suddenly turned her head so that her face was merely centimeters from that of Robin's. They stared at each other. Then, as if Robin saw something in Isabella that she could not see, he suddenly let go of her and moved away.

"Robin?" Isabella sounded surprised and a bit scared.

The boy shook his head as if he had woken up from a dream. "Sorry, Isabella. I seem to be have been still dreaming," he laughed lightly.

Isabella smiled uncertainly. She watched as Robin unsheathed his cutlass and pointed it at her. She instinctively did the same.

"Show me what you've taught yourself, Izzy," Robin challenged as they began to slowly move in a circle.

Isabella smirked. "Only if you stop calling me that ridiculous nickname," she said before making the first move.

Robin quickly spun away as her blade came down on him. He played her, continuing to let her go with the offensive and him with the defensive until she had considerably worn herself out. It was too late when she realized his plan.

Robin took on the offensive now and began to parry relentlessly against Isabella.

"Give up?" he asked her calmly as she ducked underneath his blade.

"Not without a fight," Isabella huffed. Her breath was coming out labored and her cotton shirt was beginning to stick to her body from sweat.

"Well, then I just have to do this."

Robin grabbed her free hand as their blades locked in an X. They both pressed into their blades to push off the other, and before they knew it, their noses were less than three inches apart between the blades. Isabella gasped and tried to pull away, but Robin tugged her back with the hand he still held firmly between his fingers.

"Caught you, mate," he sang, not noticing the distressed look on Isabella's face.

"Robin, look behind you!" Isabella cried out in alarm.

The boy immediately let go of her and spun around to face the bow. What he saw made his eyes widen to the size of saucers. A battalion of seagulls was flying towards their ship. Right on their tail was a curtain of thunderous rain and storm clouds. Robin turned back to Isabella.

"We have to wake up Jack."

"JAACK! JACK! CAPTAIN SPARROW!" Robin and Isabella shouted as they burst into the captain's quarters in a ruckus.

Jack cried out in alarm and flipped off his hammock, landing painfully face-first on the hard floorboards. "What the bloody hell is the matter with you two?" he yelled as he struggled to get to his feet.

Robin rushed forward to help him up as Isabella screamed, "There's a storm coming out way _NOW_!"

Jack reacted fast to this news. He slapped Robin's arms away from him and jumped to his feet. "Wake up the bloody damn crew! Tell the men no quarters tonight!" he ordered. "And get Joshamee Gibbs to my helm!" he hollered as the boy and girl ran out of his cabin.

Within minutes, the whole crew of the Black Pearl was in utter chaos as the storm finally hit the grand pirate ship.

"Tie up the lifelines!" Mr. Gibbs bellowed as he tried not to fall on his way up the stairs to the helm.

"Mr. Robin," Jack shouted over the cacophony of sound the storm made.

"Aye, captain!" the cabin boy shouted from below.

"Secure those damned lifelines!"

Gibbs looked on towards the path the Pearl was cutting through and his shouted, "MAELSTROM AHEAD!"

All heads turned towards the bow. When all eyes spotted the swirling vortex of doom they were coming upon, everyone yelled in fright and the chaos tripled.

"Don't get ahead o' yerselves, ye lily-livered gut-bags!" Jack swore at them. "We're not dead yet! Let down those sails, tied down those bloody lines, secure the rum!"

"You heard yer captain! Get a move on, ye wet dogs!" Gibbs screamed even as he crossed himself.

Robin was nearly slipped down the stairs as a large tidal wave hit the side of the ship. The lifeline securely around his middle squeezed his gut hard. "Captain!" he cried.

"Take the helm, Master Cotton!" Jack ordered the old mute before he headed towards the stairs. He gave Robin a hand up the dangerous floorboards. "What is it, Mr. Robin?" Jack demanded as he led the boy towards the wheel.

"What are you doing to do?" Robin demanded. He was sick to his stomach with fear. "Will we live through this?"

Jack looked at his son sharply. "I thought yer mother and I gave ye more courage than that, boy," he snapped.

Robin fell silent.

"Are those lifelines tied securely, boy?" Jack demanded as he turned to look at the large whirlpool.

"Aye, captain," Robin shouted. The rain was pounding hard on all of them, and the clapping of thunder rang loudly in their eardrums. "Captain, what are we going to do?" the cabin boy demanded for the second time.

Jack took out his magical compass and flipped it open. With his other hand, he pointed towards the swirling vortex in front of them. "We go there!"


	18. The Isla Mona

"Are you mad?" Robin screamed above the roar of the waves as Jack strode towards Cotton. He practically threw the old mute off of the wheel before taking it up himself.

"Mad, as in _brilliant_!" Jack exclaimed enthusiastically. He jerked the great navigational wheel sharply to the left from where Cotton had been taking the ship. This brought the ship turning back towards the vortex. The action caused nearly everyone to fall onto the ground.

"Jack!" Mr. Gibbs difficultly emerged from the stairs. He ran over to his captain. "What the bloody hell are you doing? We're headed straight for the maelstrom!" he shouted.

Jack's wide, toothy grin flashed amidst the raindrops. His eyes twinkled like a pair of diamonds. "Exactly!" he only said.

Gibbs' eyes, like Robin's had, widened. The first mate turned to the cabin boy. "Hold on for yer life, lad!" Gibbs warned before he latched himself onto the balcony ledge.

Robin threw himself to the ground and held on tightly to the only thing he knew that could give him a sense of safety: his father's right leg. Robin's stomach gave a horrible lurch as the Pearl tilted into the swirling maelstrom bow-first. The sound that hit his eardrums first was not the deafening, hollow howl coming from inside the maelstrom, but the frighteningly crushing blanket of cries coming from the terrified men from down below. The collective sounds reminded Robin terribly of the stories he had heard of Davy Jones' Locker. And it was that cacophony of fear and pain that drove Robin to shut his eyes tightly and bit down on his bottom lip to keep from joining those frightened souls. The last thing the terror-stricken boy remembered before all went black was pressing his face close to his father's trouser leg.

* * *

_"Robin. . . Rooobiin. Bradda, wakey wakey!"_

"Zanka, he's still unconscious," said Isabella's voice from somewhere above.

"Ah, don't worry. I be wakin' Robin up like dis all da time," Zanka assured her.

Robin suddenly felt a sharp tapping on his face. They felt like a rainfall of bullets. He groaned. "Zanka, how many times have I told you that I rather you not wake me up for school?" he moaned.

"Bradda, we're somewhere even bettah than dat!" Zanka said. The tall Negro boy moved away so that the bright light fell on his stirring best friend.

Robin groaned even louder as the sunlight penetrated through his closed eyelids. He quickly flipped onto his stomach, but came up with a face-full of sand. Robin spat and coughed as he placed his palms beside his body and lifted his upper half out of the sand. "Where are we?" Robin wheezed. Two worn-out boots came into his line of vision. He lifted his head and squinted through the sand still on his face.

Isabella met his dark brown eyes with an amused look on her face. Her wavy dirt blond hair fell on either side of her face like a pair of curtains. "The captain said we're on an island called the Isla Mona. It's somewhere between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico," she added after seeing the confused look on his face.

After regaining his breath, Robin stood up and wiped off the sand with his sleeve. "Oh." He looked around, noticing that the Black Pearl was beached and tied down. Its black sails, Robin noticed, were torn to virtual shreds. Everywhere on the beach there were pirates stretching or walking around. The sky was clearly blue without a cloud in sight; it was as if the storm had never happened.

Robin turned back to his companions. "Do either of you know how we got here?" he asked them.

Isabella shrugged and then hugged herself, as if a cold breeze had blown over her. "Last thing I remembered was going in circles in that horrid whirlpool." She shuddered at the memory.

"I saws wot happened," Zanka exclaimed, eyes wide. "Da cap'n used da whirlpool and da wind to speed up da boat so dat we sailed right outta da whirlpool and towards dis place!"

"Where is Jack now, Zanka?" Robin asked. He felt like he was questioning an overactive puppy.

"Da cap'n's on da boat," Zanka told him immediately and pointed towards the helm.

"_Ship_," Robin and Isabella corrected him. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Get it right, Zank," Robin told his friend exasperatedly before he stood up and set off towards the ship. As he passed the men, he noticed that most had been able to brave the storm well. A few, he noticed later, were not as lucky to have survived unscathed. "Are you alright, Marty?" he asked the dwarf who was nursing a cut on his bald head.

The short pirate waved at the cabin boy with the hand not pressed over the cut to tell him he was fine.

Robin shimmied up the mooring line that went directly up to the helm and swung himself onto the ship. There at the helm was Cotton and his parrot, Joshamee Gibbs, and Jack Sparrow; the latter two pouring over a map. "Captain," Robin called as he strode up to them.

Jack Sparrow barely gave him a glance when the boy stopped on his other side from where Gibbs was. "Not now, lad," he said gruffly and waved him away. "We're a bit off-course."

Robin looked down at the map they were using. He found the small island where they had been blown into. It was as Isabella had said - in between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Robin's eyes trailed southward and spotted the slightly larger island of Curacao just off the coast of New Granada between the islands of Aruba and Bonaire. Robin extended his hand and placed the tip of his finger on Curacao. "We're not off-course," he told them. "We can still go directly south to Curacao where the map indicated where the treasure was. We can even use the Trade Winds if we take a curved course eastbound."

Jack and Gibbs looked at each other and blinked. Then they slowly turned to the young boy with a mixture of impressed and sheepish looks on their faces. In an effort to save face, Jack stood up straight and cleared his throat. "Very well, then. However, I expect us to make the nearest port as to repair any damages the Pearl had sustained," he said. _And restock the rum supply_, he had failed to add but didn't really need to say it out loud. They all knew what he meant.

Robin shrugged. It was hard to keep of the grin from curling his lips. "Sure. I know that the nearest port is Port Desconocido on Puerto Rico," he informed them. Robin almost stumbled when Jack patted his back as his expression of pride.

"Alright-y." Jack turned to Gibbs. "Mr. Gibbs, please tell the men that we leave as soon as we get people to take those torn sails down and replace them with the white ones," he ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Gibbs agreed.

"Oh, and Mr. Gibbs?" Jack called before his first mate walked away to share the news.

"Captain?"

Jack smirked wickedly. "Don't forget to tell Mr. Adder that since making port means this will be the last time he's on our fine ship, tell him I unquestionably require him to be one of the men to fix to canvases," he ordered.

Gibbs shook his head, although a grin was alight amidst his grey beard. "Aye, Jack."

When Jack turned around, he noticed the troubled face on Robin. "What's the matter with you?" he asked curiously. Jack looked closer at the boy and then realized what was wrong. "Aah, realized tha' when we make port, Izzy has to go as well," he said aloud.

Robin looked up at his captain sullenly. "What makes you think that?" he demanded.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well," he drawled. "The long face couldn't be 'cause Adder's leaving when we make port."

Robin managed to crack a grin. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I think I want to go exploring around the island," he said out loud as he turned his back on the pirate.

"Fine with me. Just don't stray too far inland. This island may not be as empty of certain wildlife as it seems," Jack called.

Robin stopped just as he was about to swing his leg over the ledge with his right hand clinging onto the mooring line. He looked at his father over his shoulder. "Why Captain, are you _actually_ expressing concern for me?" Robin said half teasingly.

Jack Sparrow appeared offended. "Of course not," he sniffed. "I am merely giving you orders. If I assume yer bringin' that Jamaican nut with ye, then I don't want to lose a good cook. And I may warn you of your return by the time the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, or else I'll set sail with or without you. Savvy?"

Robin grinned. "We have an accord," he said cheerfully. Then, he regarded Jack with such a change of seriousness that even the pirate was slightly impressed. "Don't mind me, _Father_. I'll be careful," he promised before he slid down the mooring line.

Jack grunted. "I'll make sure o' that," he muttered underneath his breath. Jack held out his arm and whistled. Seconds later, Cotton's parrot landed on his outstretched limb. The parrot saluted to its captain with one of its wings. "Reporting for duty," it squawked. The captain leaned closer to the bird's small head and whispered some short instructions. The parrot bobbed its head once in understanding before it flew off and after the cabin boy.

* * *

"So, tell me this again, Robin. Why did we leave the beach?" Isabella panted as she, Zanka, and Robin climbed up a particularly steep hill. It was covered by palm trees and other underbrush. And if one was not careful, one could trip over an old coconut shell and tumble back down to the rocky base of the hill.

Robin looked at Zanka for a moment and received a pair of rolled eyes his way. Loud enough for their lagging companion to hear, Robin said, "Because it'll be fun to explore some of the island before we leave. And besides," he added as he stopped and turned around to help Isabella climb over a fallen tree, "This is much better than being ordered around by Jack."

"Hear hear," Zanka chimed in as he, too, stopped climbing for a quick breather.

Isabella sat down on a large boulder. "I suppose so," she conceded.

Robin placed his hands on his waist. "Come on, Izzy. Where's your sense of adventure?" he mocked her.

Isabella slightly glared up at him. "I thought I told you not to call me that," she said, but it was with a playful tone.

Zanka watched this playful banter for a moment before a Cheshire cat grin stretched his wide lips. He walked over and threw a long arm around Robin's shoulders before the younger boy could respond. "'Ey bradda, can I ask ya sumthin'?"

Robin looked up at him and blinked confusedly. "Um, sure, Zanka." Robin was suddenly pulled away from Isabella by Zanka until they were out of earshot. Robin ducked out from under Zanka's arm. "What is it, Zanka?" he asked.

Zanka poked Robin's chest with one of his long fingers. "Since when were ya gonna tell me dat ya fancy Izzy?" he demanded. "I thought I be ya best mate?"

Robin quickly clamped a hand over the older boy's mouth. "Shh! Zanka, be quiet!" he hissed. He cautiously looked over his shoulder to where Isabella was. The said girl was still sitting on the boulder, but there was a parrot on her shoulder.

A very familiar parrot. . .

Robin completely turned around. "Hey, isn't that-?"

Zanka turned him back around. "Don't be avoidin' me question, mon."

Robin sighed exasperatedly. "I don't fancy her, Zanka."

The older boy looked at his friend dubiously. "Keep tellin' yuhself dat, bradda," he said as they walked back to Isabella.

The parrot saw them coming first and flew towards Robin before settling comfortably on his shoulder. "_Rawk!_ Hello there, matey!" it greeted the surprised boy.

Robin reached up to lightly pat its head. "Cotton's. . . parrot?" he asked uncertainly. The parrot nipped his index finger almost affectionately. Robin looked at both of his companions.

Isabella slid off from the boulder and shrugged helplessly. "Someone may have sent him," she offered.

Zanka rolled his eyes at her. "Really? Who be dat?" he demanded.

Isabella took offense. "Well, I don't know," she said defensively. "It was merely a suggestion!"

"Jack did it," Robin suddenly said. When Zanka and Isabella turned their confused faces towards him, he nodded to confirm what he had said. "He did it to keep watch over us." Robin turned his head towards Cotton's parrot. "Isn't that right?" he asked.

The tropical bird bobbed its head and saluted them with one wing. "Reporting for duty, mates," it squawked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Robin noticed Isabella had left her spot. He looked past Zanka and noticed the girl trying to climb over the fallen tree she had just climbed. "Where are you going, Isabella?" Robin demanded, ignoring Zanka's knowing smirk.

Isabella stopped moving for a moment to say over her shoulder, "We might as well go back. If we start now, we can reach the Pearl before the sun reaches to highest point." Isabella twisted her body to look at the two boys better. There was that familiar twinkle in her blue eyes. "Don't want to be left behind, right?" she demanded.

Robin and Zanka shared sheepish looks before silently deciding that she was right. "Alright, alright! Wait up!" Robin called as they hurried after her.

* * *

"Hello? Captain Jack? Mr. Gibbs?" Robin called as he (with Cotton's parrot still perched on his shoulder), Zanka, and Isabella walked through the beach. The Black Pearl loomed before them with its new white sails drifting idly against the ocean breeze. "Anyone still bloody here?!"

Isabella involuntarily wrapped her arms around her body and shuddered. She looked around at the seemingly abandoned beach. "This place seems almost haunted. There's no one here, Robin," she snapped when the boy tried another call for anyone.

"_Rawk._ Abandon ship!" Cotton's parrot said.

Zanka nodded on the other side of Robin. "Da bird be right. Seems like everyone's left. For inland, maybe?" he suggested.

Robin shook his head slowly as they stopped right in front of the Pearl. "No. If I know Captain Jack, he'd _never_ abandon the Pearl for anything," he reasoned. Something brushed up against him and he jumped, but it was only Isabella.

"Sorry," she muttered. Her eyes kept straying towards the beach. Then, they widened. "Look, near the trees!" she cried.

Robin and Zanka spun around. Their eyes followed where she was pointing to. There, on the beach, the sand was disturbed. On closer inspection, it looked as though something, or someone, had been dragged across the sand and into the trees.

Zanka began to panic. "What are we gonna do, mon? Who knows what took 'em away!" he cried as he began to pace. He turned to Robin. "Do ya know how to sail da boat?" he demanded.

Isabella came forward and slapped him across the face. "Get a grip on yourself, Zanka," she told him. "Six people can be able to sail the ship, but we're not six people, are we?" Isabella turned to 

Robin and saw that he had his cutlass in hand and a determined set on his face. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"We're going to find them," Robin replied. _To find Jack_, the back of his mind whispered grimly. He had come too far to lose Jack Sparrow now.

Isabella's eyes widened with fear. "No no no! We are staying here where it is safe," she exclaimed.

Robin threw out his free hand and gestured towards the whole empty beach. "Is this what you call _safe_? The whole crew's gone!" he shouted angrily.

Zanka quickly stepped forward with a finger held up in the air. "Ya know, mon, I wouldn't mind stayin' here and-" A look from the younger boy silenced him.

Robin forced himself to relax his tense shoulders. "Look, you two. If more than two dozen pirates couldn't defend themselves against whoever had abducted them, what makes it any safer for us to stay here?" he theorized. He motioned towards the jungle. "I say we find them. Besides, 'we have a better chance at staying safe by moving around, than being sitting ducks and easily found,'" he recited his mother's favorite byword.

Zanka and Isabella finally agreed.

Robin looked up at the parrot still perched in his shoulder. "And what about you, Cotton's parrot? Will you come with us to find Cotton?" he asked.

The bird bobbed its head. "Ship out!" it exclaimed.


	19. Voodoo Trouble

The small group of three plus Cotton's parrot trekked through the Isla Mona's jungle. The island had not seemed very large on the map, but its jungle was immense. Though the trees were not so dense as to allow some sunlight to pass through the canopy top, everyone still managed to stumble over unseen tree roots and fallen branches. An hour into the wild underbrush, they had unpleasantly come across a shriveled human head that was tied to one of the outer vines hanging from a tree. Disgusted, and more than a bit daunted, the group had quickly moved on.

"Bradda," called Zanka from the end of the line they had formed to cross a small patch of thick vines. The vines hung and crisscrossed from the tall trees that stood in rows on either side of the area like silent sentinels.

Robin stopped moving and nearly fell forward when Isabella bumped into him from behind. Cotton's parrot bristled angrily at almost being dislodged from Robin's shoulder.

"_Rawk!_ Watch it, girly," the parrot squawked.

"Sorry!" Isabella whispered loudly, her first words since entering the jungle. Robin could tell by her wide-eyed, pale face that she was very fearful of being in this place. In a moment of compassion, Robin reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly before turning to face his friend.

"Do ya know where we be going?" Zanka demanded.

Robin bit into his bottom lip, and that was all his companions needed to know.

Isabella, finally losing face, pulled her hand out of Robin's and began to slowly take a few nervous steps away from the two boys, shaking her head vigorously. "W-We should head back now," she insisted. "This is madness! You don't even know wh-where you're taking us!"

"Shh, Isabella. You're babbling like a fool." Robin stretched out his hand and was about to call out to her again, when suddenly, Cotton's parrot attracted all of their attentions.

"Abandon ship!" the bird screamed before it flew off Robin's shoulder. Robin and Zanka watched in transfixed bemusement as the bird move hazardously through the long vines while right behind them, a little distance away, a pair of dark hands shot out from the thick foliage on either side of Isabella. The hands clasped tightly over her mouth and pulled her into the curtain of vines without so much as a squeak from the captive.

"Well, that was weird," Robin remarked as he turned around after Cotton's parrot had disappeared. The place where Isabella should have been was void of her presence. The hair on the back of Robin's neck rose ominously. "Isabella?" he called.

"Hey, where'd she go?" asked Zanka, having finally noticed their group had one less member.

Robin walked forward and turned on the spot where they had last seen their female companion. Worry was evident in his voice when he said, "I don't know, Zanka, but I think I know why Cotton's parrot flew away in such a hurry." He looked up to meet his friend's wide eyes and nodded. Robin drew his cutlass and motioned with his head towards the path they had been taking. "Let's get out-"

There were cries, multiple savage cries. The horrible sounds seemed to be coming from all around them, muffled only because of the long, dark vines. Yet they were very loud as well, and that was all the boys needed to know.

"Run, Zanka!" Robin shouted, but his companion was already a few paces ahead of him. Zanka's screams of terror joined the savage ones.

Robin's heart thundered as loudly as his and Zanka's footsteps as they blindly ran through the thicket of vines. He felt unknown eyes from all around him burning into his skin, and that kept him running even faster. Up ahead, Zanka was the first to break out of the vines. "Aaaaahh!!" the Jamaican cried. His yells seemed to have faded away, but before Robin could contemplate why or how, he too had broken through the last line of vines. Then, he slipped, as Zanka had, down the hill neither of them had known of and rolled into the gorge below. Robin unceremoniously hit the cold surface of the river as if it were just as solid as ground and sank into the river's watery embrace. He subconsciously felt Zanka thrashing beside him which seemed to reawaken his senses. Spreading out his limbs, he swam up to the surface.

"Zanka?" he called as he blindly tried to reach out for his friend. His wet hair fell over his eyes and momentarily obscured his vision until he used a hand to push it away.

"Help, help! Maddaaa!!" Zanka continued to yell. He knew how to swim, but his panic was overwhelming his common sense so he flailed like a fish out of water in the river beside Robin.

Robin kicked over to him and grabbed the older boy by one of his arms. "Zanka!" When Zanka seemed to not have heard him, Robin released his arm and hit him over the head. "Zanka, stop acting like a moron!" he ordered.

The older boy fell silent immediately, slowly blinking his eyes in confusion. "Where are we, mon?" His voice echoed eerily throughout the deep chasm.

Robin looked up, and the sight above them froze his heart. "Zanka," he whispered urgently, "Whatever you do, do _not_ look up."

As a natural reaction, Zanka did. His eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets and he screamed. Looking down on them was a dozen or so of Isla Mona's natives. All but one carried weapons and shields. The one that didn't was holding in each of his dark hands dolls of some sort.

"Do ya think we can swim away?" Zanka whispered tremulously.

Robin looked towards his left in the direction the river seemed to be flowing from. The current below them was too powerful to go that way. It was already an effort to keep them situated in one spot. Robin turned the other way where up ahead were the gorge ended. "I think so," he responded.

Robin reached for his cutlass but found that it was gone from its leather sheath. Cursing under his breath, Robin remembered he had been carrying his cutlass when he had fallen into the river. It must be at the bottom by now. Robin didn't know how deep the river was, but he couldn't stand not having his weapon. Robin leaned close to Zanka's ear. "Listen Zanka," he whispered loud enough to be heard above the rush of the river. "Distract them first and then hide behind one of those rocks jutting from either side of this gorge while I go down and retrieve my sword."

Zanka looked skeptically at his companion before conceding with a nod. The last thing Robin heard before diving back down into the cold water was Zanka shouting, "Hey, ya uglies up dere!"

It took a few minutes for Robin to locate and take his cutlass from the rocky bottom of the river. When he resurfaced, Zanka was clinging to one of the large boulders across the river from him. Robin saw the relief on his companion's face. Robin looked up again at the natives and noticed that the one with the dolls seemed to be chanting something underneath his breath. Robin motioned to Zanka with the jerk of his head as he put his cutlass securely on his hip. "Swim, Zanka!" he shouted.

The warriors began the same cry they had emitted in the forest as Robin led the way down the river. To their relief, no spears came down on either boy. Curiously, as Robin chanced a look back, none of the natives made a move to follow their progress. Instead, they were glued to their spots and had decided in watching he and Zanka swim away.

"Robin, is it me, or do ya feel da rivah movin' faster than we be?" Zanka shouted above the rapids. Robin looked over his shoulder. He noticed that Zanka was upright, and even though all the boy was doing was keeping his head above the water, he was able to keep up close with Robin without much effort.

Suddenly, Zanka's eyes looked ahead and widened into the size of dinner plates. "Dere be no more rivahhh!!" he screamed and pointed past Robin's head.

The younger boy snapped his head to the front again. His eyes widened, too. They had come upon the mouth of a waterfall. Zanka's long arms wrapped tightly around Robin's middle as they plunged down the cataract, screaming for mercy.

As if a greater Being above had a helping hand, they didn't fall to their deaths. There were no rocks at the bottom of the falls nor were there any piranhas waiting to eat their bodies just as they crashed into the lake, though the wind was knocked out of them. Robin felt Zanka's grip on his torso loosen and then the boy suddenly faded away. Amid the air bubbles, Robin could not see where his friend had drifted off to. Turning his face upwards, he swam to the surface.

"Bradda! Help!"

When Robin snapped his head away from the waterfall, he found Zanka already out of the water, still thorough soaked, but not jumping for joy that they had made it. Instead, he was standing awkwardly still beside the non-warrior native who held the dolls. As far as Robin could tell, Zanka was not tied with ropes, but the tall black boy's arms were stuck stiffly to his sides as if he were.

That's when Robin noticed they had more company. The native warriors had him surrounded from all sides but for the waterfall behind him. They stood on the banks of the lake with the sharp end of their primitive spears trained on him, neither blinking nor moving a single muscle.

"Bradda, watch out!" Zanka shouted, but the warning came too late. Robin felt vice-like arms wrap around his torso and lift him bodily out of the lake. Robin tried to struggle, but to no avail. He looked over his shoulder, but to his surprise, there was no one behind him. He looked down and saw there were no arms holding him. Yet, it felt so. Then, he noticed something even more wrong. His body was completely out of the water. The toes of his soaked boots barely touched the lake's surface. Robin was floating in mid-air. The last thing he saw when he looked up before blacking out was that single native with the dolls lift the one in his left hand while someone beside him finished wrapping a familiar gold chain around the doll.

* * *

Robin woke up in a haze of grogginess. When he fully regained his awareness, he noticed that he was sitting on the ground with the same feeling of vice-like arms restraining him. As if to make sure what he had seen before passing out was definitely not a dream, Robin looked down at his body; he noticed that there was nothing of the like around his torso. It hadn't been a dream.

"It's called voodoo, lad," someone to his right said.

Robin saw now that he was a captive along with the rest of the Pearl's men, along with Jack Sparrow, who was the one that spoke. He turned to his captain. "Voodoo?" Robin asked uncertainly, hoping he hadn't heard right. He thought that practice was a myth. But apparently it wasn't because Jack Sparrow was as bound by invisible means as Robin.

Robin took the chance to look around. They were in a large village. Everywhere he looked there were large totem poles from which the Pearl's crew was "tied" to. Robin and Jack were bound to a totem pole that was situated in front of a wooden throne decked in precious jewels. In between Robin and the throne was a large stone table. On top of the table were more than a dozen voodoo dolls. Each had a personal belonging of the individual man of the Black Pearl. Robin spotted his own doll but only when the glint of a golden necklace wrapped tightly around the doll's torso had drawn his attention.

As he felt his heart sink at the sudden absent feeling around his neck, the boy felt someone on his other side shift. When he turned around, Robin was face to face with Joshamee Gibbs.

There was a thin line of blood on the left side of Gibbs' face that started from his temple, but other than that, the old first mate seemed fine. "'Ello there, Master Robin," rumbled the portly pirate.

"How did you end up here?" Robin demanded. He was angry at himself, at the crew, but mainly at Jack Sparrow. The captain wasn't supposed to be tied up like this with the rest of his crew. He was supposed to be somewhere else, finding a way to escape this.

Gibbs grimaced. He must have sensed what Robin was thinking by the disgruntled look on the young boy's face. "We were overcome with their damned darts that paralyzed us. Then, the natives went around to all o' us and took somethin' o' ours for their heathen dolls," he darkly explained. "We were dragged here afterwards."

Robin nodded slowly. He turned back to his father. "What's _your_ excuse?" he demanded.

Jack looked very offended. "Am I not a man as any?" he retaliated. "I'm not a god."

"I thought as much," Robin muttered before he turned his head away but not before Jack saw the almost smug look on the boy's face. He scowled darkly.

Then Robin remembered something. "Where are Zanka and Isabella?" he asked out loud.  
Both men on either side of him turned their surprised faces towards the boy.

"Ye don't know?" Jack asked bewilderedly.

Robin swiveled around to face him. "Know what?" he demanded with rising worry.

Before either man could answer, the sudden loud beating of drums filled everyone's ears. Simultaneously, all eyes turned to look at the bejeweled throne where two large warriors had appeared on both sides. The same native Robin had seen with the voodoo dolls on top of the gorge stepped out of a small hut not far from the throne. With him were Robin's missing companions. He opened his mouth to call to them but was bumped hard on the shoulder by Jack.

"Quiet boy," Jack whispered warningly. "Don't do anythin' stupid, or it'll be ev'ryone's necks."

"What's happening?" Robin whispered fiercely as the native, who seemed to be a voodoo priest, led first Zanka to the throne and then Isabella to stand at Zanka's right.

Jack smiled wryly. "It seems," he began as the chief placed a crown of bones on Zanka's head, "tha' yer friend has been made chief and yer lass has been made his bonny wife."

Robin watched with bulging eyes as another smaller crown, this one made of flowers, was placed on Isabella's head. Her fearful blue eyes met Robin's at that instant. Help me, she silently mouthed. Her face was very pale. Robin's gut clenched angrily. He turned back to Jack. "Can't they do anything to let us free?" he hissed.

Jack shook his head slowly. "Neither can't give the Isla Mona natives any reason tha' they're anythin' _but_ gods in human forms," he said.

"Then what's going to happen to us?" Robin raged. When Jack didn't respond, Robin looked bleakly up at Zanka, who was rapidly conversing with the voodoo priest in a language that consisted of a lot of tongue clicking and long vowels, and then to Isabella, who looked positively terror-stricken in her spot.

"We're doomed."


	20. A Family Legacy

The Black Rose was swiftly approaching the Isla Mona from the southeast. The crew had left Puerto Rico as soon as the ship was restocked with supplies and thoroughly repaired before setting of on this short journey. Though the tiny island was virtually of no importance to the rest of the Caribbean, to the crew, it carried an abundance of a rare species of iguanas not found anywhere else. Each fetched quite a hefty price, and only the island's natives knew how to capture the illusive lizards.

"All hands on deck! Prepare to beach at shore!" Michael shouted as he strode up and down the main deck of the Black Rose, calling out orders left and right.

"Fine morning this day," came a call from the helm.

"Aye!" several of the men happily called in response.

When they arrived, the ship formerly known as The Raven was tilted on its side on the long stretch of white beach and securely tied down. Michael Turnbull ordered six men to accompany him to receive their merchandise from the natives. With them were three crates full of rum; the payment they gave to the natives. Before heading down to the beach, Michael turned to the helm. His first mate still hadn't moved from behind the great steering wheel, obviously waiting for the captain's orders. "Keep an eye on the ship here, eh, Emile?" he asked lightly.

From under a wide, brimmed hat that covered the upper-half of the face, his first mate tersely nodded, evidently miffed at the friendly tone Michael had used. "'Course I will," was Emile's gruff reply. When their captain left, the first mate left the helm and began to order the men left to keep a vigilant watch on the surrounding area. The commands came to the first mate like an old friend, a secondhand nature. "Do not take those headlights in your head off of the shore. I don't want any damned ambushes while we're here!"

Back on the land, Michael's group trekked through the jungle and came upon a shocking sight as they stopped just outside the native village of their suppliers.

The captain sheathed his cutlass and rubbed his sky blue eyes hard with his knuckles before he looked again. His initial surprise turned into bubbling anger and then sickening fear when he saw that it was truly Robin Kraven who was captured and tied by voodoo magic in the center of the village. The pale young boy was invisibly tied to one of the many large totem poles that littered the small village, along with the rest of the Black Pearl's crew. Not only that, but sitting directly across from him on a great wooden throne was Zanka Coffei, wearing a chief crown.

"'Ey, thar be Jack Sparrow righ' next to Robin!" Briggen exclaimed. He was immediately silenced before they could be discovered. However, the pirate was right, and Michael's heart hammered even harder in his chest to see Jack Sparrow tied down on Robin's right, as much a prisoner as the rest of them.

"So, wot do wi do, cap'n?" Briggen whispered. The other five men looked at their captain as well.

Michael unsheathed his cutlass once more and rolled his shoulders to relieve the nervous tension that had built there. Over his shoulder, he tersely replied, "Leave the rum here. We go charging through, guns ablaze, of course."

As the other six men drew out their various weapons, Michael turned to their fastest runner, a Chinese man named Jin, and ordered him to return to the ship as fast as he could to alert the men there of what they had discovered. "Immediately send a few more men with arms to aid us."

"Aye, captain," Jin mumbled before taking off in a blink of an eye.

Michael turned to the remaining men. "Alright, show me any hand bombs you have," he demanded. Two men quickly produced three small, round explosives each. Michael nodded grimly and told them what to do. "Let's go!" he shouted afterwards.

* * *

Robin groaned in frustration. Not bearing to watch what sort of ritual the voodoo priest was about to perform on their dolls, he turned to Jack for some sort of solace. "Have you come up with any escape plan yet?" he asked hopefully.

Jack didn't turn his head to Robin, but merely slid his eyes sideways to look at the boy. It was then that Jack noticed something in his peripheral vision he had not before. His head snapped towards the little hut where Robin had seen Zanka and Isabella come from. To one side of the hut's entrance were piles of boxes with one bold word stamped across all of them: **RUM**.

Jack tilted his head to the side with a curious look on his face while the young boy on his left began to utter a stream of colorful curses underneath his breath.

Without warning, a great roar resounded over the small village, catching unawares both its occupants and its prisoners. Seconds afterwards, small spherical objects soared through the air, landed in the village, and exploded. One of the small bombs (which the pirates now recognized) detonated very close to Robin's group. And in that process, the voodoo priest was completely thrown onto his feet. His outstretched hands accidentally knocked off most of the voodoo dolls from the ceremonial table. A few dolls had their bondages slide off, and so their counterparts' roars of freedom and anger could be heard mingling with the other unknown sounds washing over the village.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Robin cried, but whatever response he would have gotten was lost as the owners of the initial chaos, in the form of six pirates, charged into the village from the surrounding trees on the far right side. Various sounds of gun shots and cries of terror and pain were heard soon, as the six pirates were joined with the freed men in attacking the warriors who have not been killed by the hand grenades.

Then, one of the pirates broke away from the melee. With a nasty shock, Robin recognized the blond-haired pirate that skillfully took out the two warriors on either side of Zanka and Isabella and then held Zanka at sword edge. In front of this scene, the rest of the pirates were taking out as many native warriors as quickly as they could while the women and children ran for their lives.

With another nasty shock, Robin recognized one of the six invading pirates nearest to his captured group. "Briggen!" Robin cried.

The thin pirate killed the warrior he had been fighting. Without indicating that he had heard the boy, Briggen immediately ran over to the voodoo dolls and began to untie and free the rest of the Black Pearl captives.

Instantly, the vice-like pressure that had held the captive pirates was lifted and they could move freely again. What men could began to find where their weapons had been kept and join the battle raging around them. The natives, inadequately equipped with primitive weapons compared to the pirates, were being quickly picked off one by one.

"Jack!" Gibbs returned to his captain with his effects and threw them at him before he, too, disappeared into the chaos. As Jack finished buckling his wide leather belt, he spotted something shining on the ground next to the abandoned ceremonial table. And it was gold.

With one careful look to one side and then his other, Jack dived towards the spot as more pirates poured into the village from the trees.

* * *

The Black Pearl and The Black Rose sailed away side-by-side from the Isla Mona as fast as the winds could take them until the small island was just a speck along the clear blue horizon. When the island was no longer in sight, the two great ships dropped anchor and bobbed beside each other as Michael prepared to board the Pearl.

"Why do I feel like I've done this before?" Michael muttered over his shoulder as he watched the gangplank that would take him to the other ship being secured.

"Maybe it's because you have."

Michael felt a presence behind him and causally looked over his shoulder at his first mate. "Everything in tip-top shape, Emile?" he asked.

The mouth of Michael's first mate twisted ironically. "Had to go back for the iguanas, did you?"

Michael couldn't help but smirk. "Naturally," he said. "I couldn't let good booty go to waste."

"Aye." The pirate nodded solemnly and looked across the gangplank at Captain Jack Sparrow, who waited for the other captain at that moment. Under the wide, brimmed hat Emile wore at all times, the first mate pursed their lips. If Michael could see Emile's eyes better, he would see them narrowed in intense dislike at the other pirate captain.

Michael reassuringly patted his companion on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Em. You won't have to talk to him. _Yet_," he added before he left his first mate and walked across the gangplank. When Michael stepped onto the main deck of the Pearl, he noticed the peculiar look that Jack Sparrow was giving to Michael's first mate, who had just disappeared amidst the bustling crewmen of the Rose. Michael cleared his throat loudly and gregariously smiled at his fellow captain. "We got to stop meeting like this, Jack," he jested.

Jack finally took his eyes off the spot he had last seen Michael's first mate and smiled wryly at the blond, blue-eyed pirate. "Can't be helped, mate," he said. Jack drew himself to his full height. "Now, what business have ye with me this time?" he asked.

Michael shook his head. "I'm here to speak with Robin, Jack," Michael said dryly.

Jack stood there silently for a moment and stared at the other captain with his lips slightly parted before he suddenly bellowed his cabin boy's name.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Robin Kraven stumbled forward. "Aye, captain?" he asked uncertainly as he stepped between the two pirates, favoring being nearer to his father.

Jack took a seemingly subconscious step closer towards his son but then seemed to restrain himself from going any closer, which prompted a curious look from the boy's godfather. "Captain Turnbull wishes to speak with you," Jack told his cabin boy.

"Alone," Michael added to Jack.

Jack nodded. "O' course," he said, but didn't seem to take the hint. Michael gave Jack a pointed look that the latter looked oblivious of. Michael cleared his throat. "Jack, I'd like to speak with Robin _alone_," Michael enunciated the last word. Michael and Robin caught a brief look of annoyance on Jack's facial features before the pirate turned sharply on his heel and disappeared in the direction Robin had come from.

Robin slowly turned to Michael with the same guilty look his godfather had come to associate with constantly with the boy. Michael resisted the urge to shake his head, a frequent quirk he did whenever he saw this look. "You're not in trouble, lad," he reassured his godson.

Robin still looked wary. "I'm not going back to Barbados," he said stubbornly. He crossed his arms over his chest to emphasize his point.

Michael looked over this young boy more carefully. The time spent on the seas on his father's ship seemed to have done well on Emelia Kraven's son. He looked stronger, and even - did Michael dare believe it? - _happier_. And telling from the display Michael had just seen between Jack and Robin, an understanding of sorts seems to have been made by the two. These revelations both astonished and made Michael feel hopeful.

"How is Mother?" Robin asked out of the blue.

Michael blinked in surprise, not prepared for that particular subject to be broached so quickly. "She's doing well," he said slowly. "She misses you terribly."

Robin nodded at this, not trusting himself to speak until a space of three breaths had passed. "I've missed her, too," he softly conceded. Then, the stubborn look came back quickly as if he didn't want to show any weakness or uncertainty. "But I won't go back. Not yet, anyway," he added.

Michael felt that he had been shaking his head too often that day as he did it again. His patience, as it usually did, was running thin on his high-strung godson. "Do you honestly believe that Jack Sparrow will be that willing to leave his life and legacy at sea and stay with you and your mother on land, Robin?" Michael asked testily. "Be reasonable. You've already met him, and from what I saw, come to terms with him, but Jack would never leave the Black Pearl or the sea."

"If he truly loved my mother, he would," Robin said heatedly, but it was obviously clear he had not allowed himself much time to think about this subject.

Michael placed his calloused hand on Robin's shoulder, and with his sky blue eyes, looked at Emelia Kraven's eyes. "I don't doubt for one second that Jack still loves her, but I also don't doubt his love for the sea," he reasoned.

"I'm staying," Robin said with the same stubborn finality in his tone that Michael knew too well.  
Michael sighed and slid his hand off of the shoulder before rubbing his face. "For how long?" he asked wearily.

Robin stiffly shrugged. "As long as it takes," he eventually said.

Knowing that their time was up, Michael stepped onto the gangplank without having called for Jack Sparrow. The other captain might not have come if called, anyways. Michael looked down on Robin for a long moment, looking as if he needed to say something more, but then Michael shook his head, waved to his godson before wishing him Godspeed, and then left. As The Black Rose sailed away from the Black Pearl one more time, Michael couldn't take his eyes off of the magnificent ship or the spot where he had last seen Robin Kraven.

Emile silently walked up from behind Michael, also staring after the Black Pearl as the late afternoon swallowed it up in the distance from under the large hat. Michael moved slightly over to the side and turned to his first mate, whose dark brown eyes were filled with melancholy.

"Was I wrong, Michael? To not speak to either of them?"

Michael shook his head vigorously. "No, not at all Em," he said.

Emelia Kraven swept off her large hat. Her long, raven black hair, which she had carefully concealed underneath the hat, fell gracefully down to her midriff, having been freshly cut two weeks ago when she had first stepped back onto her former ship. On the outside, she wore men's clothes to conceal her real pirate clothes.

Em crossed her arms underneath her breasts and sighed heavily. "I saw Jack staring at me and bolted," she said and cursed inwardly for her cowardice.

Michael smiled wryly. "I noticed."

Em tore her eyes away from the sunset and looked at Michael with a look of anguish on her face that only a mother seeing her son leaving her again could. "How is he?" she only had to ask.

Her former first mate wrapped a companionable arm around her. "He and Jack are getting along much better than the last time we had crossed paths," Michael began before launching in his explanation of what he had seen after Jack had called Robin to him.

Em nodded throughout this whole thing, feeling love and hope well up in her. When Michael was finished, she silently slipped out from underneath his arm and turned away.

"Where are you going?" Michael called after her retreating back.

"To tell the men to head back to Puerto Rico to deliver those damned iguanas to our merchant there before they drive us up the wall," came the frank reply.

* * *

Robin felt someone tapping his lower back and turned around.

Marty the dwarf stared up with his pale blue eyes. "The captain wants to see you in his cabin."

Robin thanked him before walking away. Inside the captain's quarters, Jack stood behind his writing desk, waiting for Robin. The boy felt the pit of his stomach drop as he looked into his father's solemn face. "You wanted to see me, captain?" he asked hesitantly. Robin flinched when Jack thrust out his right fist. When the hand opened, a familiar golden necklace lay upon it with the small bird pendant nestled in its center. Robin immediately felt the absence of the necklace from around his neck and flushed deeply. He reached out to take it, but Jack moved his hand and the necklace away from him. Robin turned his outstretched palm over and said, "Give it here, captain."

Jack shook his head and held the necklace up by either end. The tiny silver bell the golden bird carried it its beak jangled, but not a single sound came from it. "I don't think I should trust ye wit somethin' as important as this, boy," Jack said sternly.

Robin placed his hands on his hips and scowled. "Mother gave that to me, so it is rightfully mine," he told Jack.

However, the older pirate begged to differ. Still holding the necklace between his hands, Jack raised up his index finger. "Ah, but _I_ gave this necklace to Emelia, who gave it to you, so, really, this necklace is rightfully _mine_," Jack explained.

For maybe the first time in his life, Robin did not retaliate. He did not rise to the bait of argument and allowed himself to be swept up in its current. However, the boy could no longer look at the arrogant smirk on Jack Sparrow's face for fear Robin would do something he'd later regret. Instead, with incredible will, Robin pointedly bit his tongue and sharply turned on his heel with every intention on slamming both doors after he left.

"So, this is why _I_ will give it to _you_," Jack finished calmly. He watched with secret delight as his son slowly turned back around with unrivaled surprise all over his face. Robin's lips were slightly parted with shock.

"W-What?" he managed to choke out.

Jack's grin widened, although now it was from his inner mirth that he was unsuccessfully hiding. Jack held out the necklace. "Take it, lad," he encouraged. "It's truly yours now. A lifetime of legacy from both o' yer parents."

Robin's body actually trembled as he stepped closer to Jack and accepted the necklace that meant so much to their little and broken family. Robin almost couldn't properly fix the necklace back to its rightful place around his neck. When he looked back at Jack, he couldn't seem to find the words to describe how he felt at the moment. What looked like pride for _Robin_ shone through Jack's eyes, but maybe only because Robin wanted so much for it to be that way. But as quick as the look in Jack's eyes had appeared, it as quickly disappeared and was replaced by seriousness once more.

"Now lad," Jack said, "There still be some time to go back home with Michael-"

But Robin's elation couldn't be squelched, and besides - he already knew his answer right away. "What? And miss a grand adventure with my father?" he exclaimed.

Jack smirked proudly.


	21. Keeping Her

The adventure on the Isla Mona warranted a quick stop at Port Desconocido. The port was a reputable place for sailors and merchants to dock and resupply on an island just a few miles off the coast of Puerto Rico where the said port was located. However, to pirates wanting to drop into the town, Port Desconocido also had a number of Royal Navy soldiers lurking about. All pirates entering had to be very circumspect so as not to be caught. And so far, none of them have.

Yet, to Robin, the quick stop meant that not only was it time for Adder to be kicked off the Pearl, but Isabella as well. While there was definitely no love lost for Adder, Robin couldn't help going behind Isabella's back to try to convince Jack to change his decision.

"Can't you just-"

"No."

"It was only a small agree-"

"No."

"She doesn't belong-"

"We picked her up from Tortuga," Jack quickly interjected. "Consider Port Desconocido as an improvement!" The captain turned his back on his cabin boy to finish directing the process of replacing the Pearl's signature torn, black sails with white ones so that when they made port in two hours, the ship wouldn't be easily recognizable.

Robin ground his teeth in frustration. "Captain!" he nearly shouted.

With his back still facing the boy, Jack rolled his eyes. "Aye, lad," he said exasperatedly.

Robin swallowed hard before he took a step closer until he was just right at Jack's elbow. In a low voice so that only his father heard, Robin pleaded with him to keep Isabella on the ship. "I-I'd miss her," Robin confessed unsteadily. When Jack cast Robin a curious look, the boy quickly backtracked. "I mean, I'd miss our sparing matches. She's becoming a good sword fighter."

Jack appeared to be satisfied with this answer, however, nothing would change his mind. If anything, Robin's affirmation of Isabella's improved sword skills only served for Jack's argument that if anything were to happen to the girl, she could handle it.

"Besides," Jack added as, later, he sauntered towards the helm with Robin in tow, "I _did_ happen to have promised her a cutlass of her own, and, being a pirate of my word, will fulfill that promise."

Robin did not hear the last part. He had caught the sight of familiar dark blond hair of the said girl darting towards the bow of the ship. Leaving Jack at the stairs, Robin quickly followed her. 

"Isabella!" he called. He sped up his pace.

A small smile greeted him, but the downcast look in her blue eyes told him more than her mouth could. They gingerly stood together at the bow, hands tightly clenching the line that went from the bowsprit up to the mizzen mast.

"Two more hours," Isabella said sadly.

Robin shook his head with a scowl.

Isabella's smile grew at this, but she let part of her hair to fall into her face to hide it from him as she spoke in a more casual tone, "So, you didn't change Captain Sparrow's mind, I take it?" Even though she was looking straight ahead, she could feel Robin's astonished gaze on her. "Yup, I knew." She turned to look at him and her smile turned sad like her eyes. "Don't worry about me, Robin," she reassured him. Isabella removed her hand from the rope and hit him lightly on his muscular shoulder. "Besides, Captain Sparrow says you can come with us to see my new cutlass."

* * *

True to both of their words, Robin did accompany Jack Sparrow and Isabella into town after they docked into Port Desconocido. Of course, this was after Robin got to see, with much pleasure, as Adder was told by Jack to "get off me ship, ye yellow-bellied, tub-o-lard-for-arse, swab!"

It was very clear early on that the town had not had enough of its share in dealing with pirates, but that could attest to the fact that when pirates wanted to be unknown, they will be. So, not surprisingly, curious glances were directed solely on Jack Sparrow, who seemed to be taking pride in the attention, while slightly embarrassing the two young teenagers on either side of him. The three went straight to a smithy, where Jack bargained a decent deal for a plainly forged cutlass for Isabella. As they waited for the weapon, Jack, Isabella, and Robin went to the market.

A hat vendor caught Isabella's eye right away. With a gayety she hadn't displayed in a long time, she impulsively grabbed Robin's arm and proceeded to drag him towards the piles of different hats with Jack looking on with an amused smirk.

"I don't want a hat, Isabella!" Robin complained as they stopped in front of the vendor.

Isabella picked up a large hat made of straw and placed it on her head. She rolled her eyes when she saw the scowl still present on her companion's face. "I'm not making you buy one, you prat! Just try some on!" she urged him as she replaced the straw hat with one made in the far off lands of the Orient.

"But what's the point if you're not going to buy anything?" Robin argued. "It's utter nonsense!" A shadow fell over him and instinctively, Robin turned around.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Ye know, lad, it's not nice to yell at a lady," he said.

Robin also raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, Jack did not doubt as to which side of the boy's parentage that quirk came from. "You're one to talk," Robin was mockingly pointing out.

Jack smiled wickedly and looked away. He spotted a barrel being rolled down the busy street and felt like he was electrocuted as he remembered something important. He turned to the two teenagers and his jaw slightly dropped as he stared at the large elaborate hat Robin was wearing. Isabella giggled, even more when a goofy smile spread over the boy's lips. Jack blinked then shook his head. "Take that off, you look positively ridiculous!"

Robin stuck his tongue out at him and grinned as Isabella tried to suppress another giggle. "You're just jealous I can pull this look off and still look good!" Robin smartly retorted. This sent Isabella into a snorting fit.

Jack's eye slightly twitched. Suddenly, he pointed off towards a spot behind Robin. "Look, over there!" When the boy's attention was diverted, Jack snatched the hat off and tossed it to the startled vendor. "Here, keep that away from him!" Jack called before he began to walk away.

"Hey!" Robin shouted when he turned back around. "Where are you going?"

"I must speak with a man about rum!" Jack responded before he turned a corner and was gone with a swish of his trench coat.

Shortly afterwards, Isabella and Robin decided to leave the hat vendor and explore the town more. Because Isabella had never been anywhere but Tortuga, she was naturally curious and excited about anything. Robin, who also had not been anywhere but his home of Barbados, was still slightly more reserved than Isabella but did share her enthusiasm in looking through the different shops the port had to offer. At one point, Robin had to bodily drag Isabella away from a shop selling fancy and beautiful dresses well beyond their money bags.

"But that green dress was very pretty, Robin!" Isabella whined as her companion proceeded to move them down two blocks away from the shop.

Robin made a derisive noise in the back of his throat. "Sure it was, but it's not like you have the money to afford it."

Isabella huffed angrily and crossed her arms over her chest. Her pace quickened and Robin had to jog to catch up with her. "Oi! Would you bloody slow down!" Robin exclaimed.

This merely prompted Isabella to walk faster, if that were possible. After a moment, she suddenly stopped altogether. Robin had to swerve out of the way to avoid bumping into her. He moved in front of her and saw her face was red from the effort of walking so fast and her anger. Sighing from frustration, Robin placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said, alright?"

Isabella shrugged off his hands and jabbed a finger into his chest. "Look yourself," she started, "I _know_ that I don't have barely a pound's worth of shillings in my pocket, but that doesn't mean you have to throw the painful truth in my face, Robin Kraven!"

Robin's eyes widened in alarm. "Who told you my last name?" he gasped.

Isabella took a surprised step back and blinked. "I heard Captain Sparrow say it once before, why?" she queried.

"Nothing," Robin said quickly. Without preamble, he spun on his heel and began walking down the street.

"Robin!" Isabella panted when she had caught up a few strides later. "How dare you leave me back there!" she exclaimed indignantly.

"Sorry," Robin said shortly, although they both knew he didn't mean it one bit. He slowed down a little so that she could walk beside him with their footsteps in sync.

After a pause, curiosity won over Isabella. "Sooo, why did it matter if I knew your name?" she asked innocently.

Robin jerked his head and pushed his hands into his trouser pockets. "It doesn't," he said shortly.  
"Then why did you act like you did when I said Robin Kraven!" Isabella exclaimed.

Robin knew what she was doing and what she wasn't consciously, and both irked him and made him nervous at the same time. "Just bloody drop it, alright?" he grumbled.

Isabella smiled, knowing she was getting to him. "Aaaalright, Mr. Kraaaaven," she sang. Then, she actually did break into song. "_Kraven, Kraven! It sounds like a raven! Raven!_"

Robin's skin crawled. "Hey, stop that right-"

Isabella suddenly gasped as the realization, a realization Robin had been trying to keep from her, hit her. She stopped in her tracks the same time he did and pointed a finger at his face. "You're mother is Emelia Kraven!" she screamed excitedly. "Oh my Lord! That is really ama-" Robin quickly covered her mouth with his hand and pulled her into the nearest shop, which happened to be a bakery.

As the delicious aroma surrounded them, Isabella threw off Robin's hand. "I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "Your mother's a legend! Where has she _been_ all this time?!"

Robin grunted as he crossed his arms over his chest and heavily leaned back on a support beam along the whitewashed wall. The two teenagers seemed to go unnoticed amongst the running customers and the baker's assistants. "Leave it alone," Robin said wearily.

Isabella stepped closer to him until they were a foot apart. She tilted her head slightly to the side and smiled coyly. "Please?" she said sweetly, an unmistakable trick she picked up living amongst the whores of Tortuga.

Reminded of her old profession, Robin turned his head away with clear disgust on his face.

Isabella quickly moved back, now embarrassed. "Alright, I won't do that ever again, but _please_ tell me?" she asked hopefully.

Robin couldn't help but crack a small smile as he looked back at her again. "Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Curiosity killed the cat'?" he mocked. They both laughed. When it subsided, Robin promised to tell her everything later, but they both knew this was an empty promise because later meant that the Black Pearl would be long gone from Port Desconocido; Robin would be long gone from Isabella.

* * *

Sometime later when they were standing in front of a store that sold an assortment of odds and ends, a commotion like a swift plague swept through the town. Citizens were running around like chickens without heads, children and women were screaming, shops were suddenly being closed down, and the distinctive sounds of gunshots in the distance were soon coming closer towards Robin and Isabella. Robin barely had time to push Isabella off the road as a troop of Royal Navy soldiers came barreling down the street.

"Stay here!" Isabella told Robin before she ran towards the nearest civilian. "What's happening?" she yelled over the noise.

"Bloody hell, didn't ya here, girl?" the civilian shouted. "A tip off to the Royal Navy soldiers said there be pirates found at the port!"

"Isabella!" Robin pulled her back to him as a horse drawn carriage flew their way.

"Robin, they found out about the Pearl!" Isabella shouted into his ear. "Adder must have told them!"

"What!" Robin thought fast. If anything besides Adder's vengeance, Robin hoped the Black Pearl hadn't left Port Desconocido yet, but he didn't want to push his luck. Robin looked at Isabella and had an idea. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Isabella, run to the Pearl, do you understand?" he ordered her. "Run to the Pearl and hide in the galley. Tell Zanka to hide you!" He let her go.

"But what about you?" she shouted. However, Isabella never got an answer because no sooner had the words left her mouth that a surge of panicking civilians pushed her down the street, conveniently towards the direction of the dock.

I've got to find Jack, Robin's mind screamed. Not even a minute after, Jack Sparrow suddenly appeared in front of Robin. In his left hand was Isabella's newly forged cutlass. "Where is Izzy?" Jack demanded as he took Robin by the upper arm with his free hand and began taking another route towards the Pearl.

"I lost her in the crowd," Robin lied. He reached over and took Isabella's sword and was grateful that Jack did not protest.

An hour later, the Black Pearl was sailing as fast as it could away from Port Desconocido. A few men had been caught by the Royal Navy soldiers, but nothing could have been done for them. Two of those men included Adder's two cronies, Ceppo and Manchot, but Robin secretly thought it was for the better that the two were no longer part of the crew. After he and Jack had boarded the Pearl, Robin went immediately down into the galley where Zanka and Isabella waited for him. Isabella was so overjoyed about her new sword that she had kissed Robin's cheek, leaving him blushing scarlet with Zanka grinning toothily in the background.

"Sooo," Zanka drawled as he leaned leisurely against a long bench, "How're ya gonna 'splain to Cap'n Jack 'bout Izzy bein' on da boat?"

"_Ship_," Robin and Isabella said simultaneously.

"And I'll tell him," Robin said before he left the galley. Predictably, he found Jack at the helm, and also predictably, Jack already knew about Isabella before Robin had a chance to open his mouth.

"Fool fer a lass, aye, son?"

Robin stared at him with his jaw sagging. "You know?" he gasped.

"Don't be so surprised," Jack chuckled.

"Well, can I keep her?" Robin asked hopefully.

Jack shrugged carelessly. "Sure, ye can keep the bitch." He smiled to show that he was teasing Robin.


	22. X Marked the Spot

On the aged map Robin had taken from his mother all those months ago, the X marked the spot on the island of Curacao. The Black Pearl sailed with the Trade Winds, which blew into the lower Caribbean Islands from the Atlantic Ocean, to the home of the largest black market in the Caribbean.

Or so Jack claimed it was.

"Anythin', anythin' you want, you can get in Curacao," Jack boasted. "And not on'y that, but Curacao almost makes Tortuga pale in comparison in women!"

Robin's interest was quickly piqued, but only because of the way Jack had mentioned the women there. "Will we make port there after we find _it_?" Although the crew had a vague idea that the map led to some sort of important buried treasure, no one but Robin, Zanka, Gibbs, and Jack knew they were after the Mermaid's Tear. The only three other people who knew absolutely what the treasure was, and who had also been part of the crew, were now stewing somewhere in Port Desconocido.

Jack Sparrow grinned and winked wickedly, only serving to add to Robin's unsettled feeling about which of the two his father had mentioned did the man really enjoyed more. "Couldn't think o' a better time than in these parts, lad."

The densely populated island of pirates and sailors was part of a small archipelago of two other islands, Aruba and Bonaire. These three islands were situated along the northern shore of New Granada. Curacao itself was slightly larger than its sister islands. It was surrounded by shallow waters that housed coral reefs, easily reached without the assistance of a boat but made a potential danger for ships that couldn't maneuver around them.

The Black Pearl's particular destination was St. Joris Bay on the far eastern side of the island. There was not only the absence of ports on this side of the island, but it was where the dotted red trail on the map led to.

However, upon their arrival, the Pearl immediately encountered a few unforeseen problems. The narrow coast was full of rocks that jutted out into the ocean, forcing the Pearl to be kept anchored at sea. The close proximity of the islands, Curacao and Bonaire, caused strong currents between the two. This raised much concern since the crew had made a consensus that the treasure was most likely in a hidden, underwater cave.

It was Marty who discovered the nearly obscure and secret passage between two cliffs. There seemed to be no possible way to avoid the rocks from above or the coral reefs below in the water without seriously damaging the Pearl. Jack ordered only a portion of the men - after argument first developed as to who should go with him - onto three long boats to row into the narrow passage. With some more argument, Robin was allowed to come with Jack's party, but Zanka, Isabella, and even Gibbs were made to stay on the Pearl. "For obvious reasons," Jack warned darkly as he cast a wary glance at the rest of the crew that would remain on the ship.

The limestone cliffs jutted and crossed each other, making the passage narrower than was expected. The three boats had to maneuver carefully through, one at a time, with Jack and Robin in the first boat directing action towards the other two boats. A wide opening greeted them from the other side of the passage. Except for that opening, they were closed in from all sides by yellow, jagged walls.

The clear blue water made it very easy to spot the cave. At Jack's command, one man, their Leadsman, took out a long string with a lead nugget attached to one end. The Leadsman dropped the nugget into the water and slowly measured out the distance between the surface of the water and the entrance of the cave. Nearly fifteen fathoms was the distance the Leadsman came up with. Another man from their party was selected to swim down to the entrance of the cave to see if it were possible to make it with one breath. To everyone's relief, for some had believed the cave was farther than it was measured, the man was able to float before the cave entrance and come back up without much trouble. There was a light coming from the cave, he had proclaimed after he broke the water's surface. This made the rest of the men more excited - and restless, something Jack did not fail to notice.

He immediately ordered the men to leave all their weapons but their cutlasses on the boats. With empty burlap sacks tied around their waists, they each dove down into the cold water. The cave was only an entrance to a large underwater tunnel that curved up deeper into the surrounding cliffs. The glow of the blue water helped light their way through. When they broke the surface again, they found another long tunnel stretched before them.

The men tried to squint through the pervading darkness that filled the tunnel. "How're wi 'sposed to get through this, cap'n?" they complained. The only light that was provided to them was the reflections off the water from behind.

Robin jumped when he felt something touch his lower back. He spun around and met Jack's eyes. "Wh-What?" he whispered shakily. The light coming from the surface of the water behind them danced across his father's face and so made it easy to see Jack indicate towards the tunnel before them.

"Take a step forward, boy," Jack ordered him.

Robin shook his head vigorously. "Are you mad? There could be something in there!" Robin's voice came as a squeak.

"_Son._"

The young boy stared up into his father's eyes. He felt his misgivings slowly lessen. Robin nodded. "Alright, but I won't like it," he said hesitantly.

Jack smiled widely and turned Robin around to face the tunnel. Without a word, the captain forcefully pushed the boy into the tunnel.

Cries of alarm and surprise resounded throughout the tunnel as two balls of fire erupted from either side of Robin on the tunnel's walls. Spinning around to look at them, Robin saw that the fire was coming from braziers embedded into the rock walls. He looked ahead of him. There were empty braziers lined on either side of the passageway.

Jack stepped past Robin and watched as the next pair of braziers he walked towards lit up as well. He looked over his shoulder at everyone behind him. "Let's go, men."

Soon, the tunnel broke off into two directions. Jack, Robin, Marty, and three other men took the left tunnel. The others took the right. It became clear to Robin's small group, with the horrifying sounds of the other party's screams echoing off the cave walls, that they had chosen the correct way.

"W-what ye think 'appened to them?" someone stuttered as everyone cast frightened looks over their shoulders and at each other.

Jack tipped his tricorn hat over his eyes and started forward again. "Must have been a spider," he muttered ironically.

They came upon an entranceway made entirely of marble. Large, looming statues of fierce mermaids wearing armor - six in all - lined both sides of the door, three on each side. Their warrior-like expressions, combined with the flickering flames from the braziers that danced shadows over their beautiful features, made for a very intimidating scene.

"Search the door," ordered Jack. With only a moment's hesitation, everyone dropped their sacks and started forward. The elaborate marble entrance was sealed shut, they sorely discovered. Nothing could get it to open. Painstaking minutes later, Robin's voice echoed throughout the large chamber, "I've found something!" Everyone eagerly converged behind the boy, who was kneeling right in front of the marble door. There on the ground was a written inscription.

Robin bent down lower and squint his eyes. "It's written in a weird language," he told the waiting men over his shoulder.

Jack pressed forward. He pushed Robin off to the side and kneeled down in his place in front of the inscription. Using his index finger to trace the arcane words, Jack read aloud, "_Re'netted ack mehen, inhet nepri solamutt ca'var_."

A short paused followed these strange words.

"Well, what does it mean, Captain?" Marty ventured.

Jack got back on his feet and dusted off his clothes. "It says, 'Remember the song that brings sailors running.'"

Robin looked at the captain weirdly. "How do _you_ know Mermish?" he demanded curiously.

"How do _you_ know the words are in Mermish?" Jack countered. As Robin was sent spluttering a weak answer, Jack turned to the rest of the men and told them to remember any old songs about mermaids.

"Why do we need to know that?" someone asked.

Jack rolled his eyes at the incompetence of his men. "Because," he said slowly and clearly, "they obviously want the required song to open the door." He was instantly met with a barrage of song names.

The crash of their collective, arguing voices, as each tried to be heard over the others nearly, threatened to deafen Robin as he drew away from the group and slowly circled the chamber. He discovered in a closer look of the mermaid statues that all of them had sapphire gems for eyes. All pairs looked hollow under the flicker of the burning braziers. As Robin walked in front of the great marble door that blocked him from the treasure of the centuries, he placed his palm flat on the intricate patterns carved onto the door more than perhaps a thousand years ago.

"A Sailor's Farewell?"

"No, ye dolt! That don't hafta do nothing about mermaids!"

"Who ye callin' a dolt?!"

"_Gentlemen_," Jack's voice rang clearly above the rest. "We're lookin' for a bloody song about sailors' demise by a mermaid."

These words triggered something in the back of Robin's mind. From where, he knew not. But, all of a sudden, he felt as if a pair of comforting arms had encircled his upper body in an intimate embrace. In this surreal moment, Robin heard a soft, sweet voice singing in his ear,

_It was Friday morn when we set sail  
And we were not so far from the land  
When our captain, he spied a mermaid so fair  
With a comb and a glass in her hand_

Before Robin could stop himself, the frighteningly beautiful words of this ominous song, coming from this unknown voice in his ear, flowed effortlessly through his lips.

_Oh, the ocean waves do roll  
And the stormy winds do blow  
We old sailors are skipping at the top  
_

_The landlubbers lie down below, below, below  
Oh, the landlubbers lie down below_

A blue glow out of the corner of his eye attracted Jack's attention, and he turned around to find its source. The eyes of the closest statue to the left of the entranceway were dancing merrily with their own inner light. Jack's eyes darted from the statues towards the young boy who stood with his hand on the door, singing clearly in a melodious tenor. Everything clicked. The rest of the group immediately fell in a hush and tentatively followed Jack, allowing only Robin's voice to fill the large chamber.

_And up spoke the captain of our gallant ship  
And a fine old man was he  
"This fishy mermaid has warned me of our doom  
We shall sink to the bottom of the sea"_

Each time Robin broke into the chorus, another pair of sapphire eyes lit up, until finally, the sixth pair of eyes were dancing with light. As the final chorus echoed throughout the cavern, a sudden earth-shattering rumble came from the doorway. The marble door began to rise from the ground and slowly open as clouds of dusts were sent up into the air. The sight beyond the entranceway sent a cry of exultation from the entire group. In a vast circular room, precious jewels and golden coins glittered everywhere in large hills that reached over their heads. At the center of this glory was a pedestal with a stone basin on top. As the rest of the men ran shouting with joy into the piles of treasure all around them, Jack and Robin greedily moved towards the pedestal. The basin was plain all around. The inside was filled with silver liquid, but just barely protruding from the surface was a cusp of a glass orb. Eager to snatch the ultimate prize, Robin extended his hand towards the inside of the basin.

Yet, at the last second before his fingers would have touched the silver liquid, Jack snatched his hand away. "Are ye mad, boy?" he admonished. "You don't just stick yer hand in unknown material without having someone do it first!"

"Then who's going to do it?" Robin demanded angrily even while his face burned red from embarrassment. "You?"

Instead of answering, Jack looked over his shoulder and whistled at one of the men who were running past the basin. The pirate stumbled to a halt and, rather reluctantly, turned around to face Jack. "Aye, captain?"

"Nonzenz, get yer pot-bellied gut o'er here," ordered Jack. "And get me that sphere inside!"

"Aye, aye, captain." As Nonzenz jogged over, both father and son heard the distinctive clinking sound of the coins the man had stuffed in his pockets. Without further ado, Nonzenz rolled up his sleeve and plunged his hand into the basin. To Robin and Jack's secret relief, Nonzenz was able to pull out the blue, glass orb with his hand still intact. "'Ey, what be this, captain?" the pirate wondered curiously as he began to hold the orb up to his eyes.

Robin quickly snatched it out of Nonzenz's hand before he could see within the orb the sight of the sea. "Thanks mate. Why don't you go give everyone the empty burlap sacks we left at the entrance so we could haul as much treasure as we can back to the Black Pearl?" Robin smiled widely as he secretly pocketed the Mermaid's Tear.

Behind a now preoccupied Nonzenz, Jack smirked proudly.

* * *

The story of the mermaid's first tear Mr. Drummond had told little Emelia Kraven all those years ago was true.

After the remaining members of the boat party returned to the rest of the impatiently waiting crew members, loaded down with sacks full of glittering treasure; after the jubilant roar of victory that only came with finding booty was sent up by the impatient majority of the men; after a course was immediately charted for the nearest main port in the Caribbean islands, Robin found himself standing inside the captain's quarters in front of Jack's writing table with the captain himself across the desk's other side, identical grins alight on their faces. The Mermaid's Tear sat between the two pirates on the desk's worn surface. The smooth glass the orb was made of was sparkling brightly up at the two adventurers.

As both eyes, one dark brown and the other twinkling, stared down with equal intensity into the orb, a mirage of scenes flitted and blossomed like a flower from within. A group of dolphins were playfully jumping against fresh waves; thousands of tropical fish swam through and around coral reefs; and a giant-tailed fish, which Robin suspected was more than a fish, tried to evade their sight. These were only a few images captain and cabin boy saw.

"What are going to do with the Mermaid's Tear, captain?" Robin asked after a while.

Jack Sparrow drummed his fingers on the desk's worn surface in deep thought. Finally, he said, "The most proper, _pirate_ thing to do is sell it to the highest bidder."

Robin tried not to hide his disappointment.

"However," Jack continued, "After seein' meself what this prize could do, I think it's worth holding out just a little longer in the hopes that it could also be turned into a detector of sorts." Seeing Robin's confused expression, Jack clarified, "Use it as a treasure finder, lad."

A grin Robin had been trying to hide since Jack said "however" broke across his face. He expected as much from a great pirate like his father. "Captain, may I say something?" he asked.

Jack sank into his armchair and waved his hand around idly. "Ye just did, but fine. Go ahead," he said as he tipped his hat over his mischievous eyes.

"Of all men, I'm proud to have you as my father," Robin said boldly before he seized the Mermaid's Tear and spirited away with it.

Jack slowly tipped back his hat away from his eyes and looked astonishingly from the closed double doors, towards his desk, and back again. A chuckle escaped his lips as his moved his hat back over his eyes and placed his boots atop his desk in a more relaxed position.

"Bloody arse," he sleepily muttered.


	23. Seeing Old Friends

Isabella found Robin leaning over the railing on the starboard side of the ship after she was done straightening up the crew's quarters below deck. She walked up to him silently, noting that in his hands, he held a spherical object. "What do you have there, Robin?" Isabella asked him when she stopped right next to him.

In a moment of irrational panic, Robin tried to cover up the Mermaid's Tear with his hands, but unfortunately, the treasure was too large to escape his companion's curious blue eyes.

"What _is_ that?" Isabella reached over, flung away the hand that was clasped on top of the object, and took it away from Robin. Her eyes widened in amazement as she looked into the orb, and a flash of underwater scenes flitted from inside, just as it had done to Robin and Jack. "This is amazing!" Isabella whispered in awe. She forced herself to tear her gaze away from the pretty images and looked up at the nervous-looking boy. "What is it?" she repeated, more eagerly. "Is this what you and Captain Sparrow retrieved from the cave?"

Robin pressed a finger to her lips for silence. He looked around and was relieved to see that, aside from Jack and Gibbs at the helm, he and Isabella were the only people around. Nearly all of the men had gone down below for the afternoon ration of food from the galley. Robin returned his gaze back to Isabella and removed his finger. He placed both of his hands around her hands, which still held the orb. His palms tingled with the contact of Isabella's smooth, tan skin.

"Well?" Isabella said impatiently as she tried to ignore the feeling of his warm hands on her own. "What is this thing?" She watched Robin bite his lower lip hesitantly, and she knew then that there was something important about this treasure that made it more valuable than the gold coins or the jewels the other men had brought back. She lowered her voice. "Robin?" she whispered, wide-eyed.

Robin moved his head closer towards hers. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" he pleaded. He was both half-frightened and half-eager to tell her his secret.

Isabella slid out her right hand from under his and pressed the palm over her heart "Cross my heart," she promised. She removed her hand and placed it over his.

Robin grinned. "Alright, I'll tell you." He gently took the orb from her hands and held it up close to her eyes, yet not close enough so that she'd be once again lost in the beautiful images it contained inside. "This is called the Mermaid's Tear," he began. "This whole voyage has been to find this treasure."

"Where did it come from?" Isabella gasped.

Robin told her the old legend of the mermaid and her human lover, which ended in the mermaid shedding the first tear when she chose to be a human for her sailor-lover and give up being a mermaid forever. "My mother had the map to the Mermaid's Tear, given to her by her late guardian and lookout, Mr. Drummond," Robin said. "I took the map when I"-he hesitated before saying-"ran away."

Isabella's eyes lit up at the mention of his mother. She cocked her head slightly to the side and pursed her lips. "You know," she drawled. "I specifically remember you promising to me the last time we made port that you'd tell me about your 'infamous' mother."

Robin inwardly cursed, having hoped she'd have long forgotten that promise. He tried to worm his way out. "But that was in a different circumstance," he said dismissively.

Isabella narrowed her eyes and stomped her foot down hard on the wooden floorboards. "The circumstance being that Captain Sparrow was planning on leaving me there so you wouldn't have to ever tell me about her?" she snapped.

Robin flinched and quickly averted his guilty eyes. He mumbled something incomprehensive, but Isabella somehow got the gist of it. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him, reminding the boy strongly of his mother when he dared to look back at her. "You almost look just like her when you do that," he muttered ruefully as he turned and leaned over the railing again.

Isabella looked at his emotionally torn face and softened her posture and attitude a little. She also leaned on the railing next to him. "So, this is what I know so far from what you've told me," she began. "You're mother is the pirate woman Emelia Kraven, she lives in Barbados, she's still an amazing swordsman, and she gave up her life as a pirate to raise you by herself. Is that right?"

Robin nodded as he idly turned to Mermaid's Tear over and over in his hands, lost in thought.

Beginning to turn impatient with her growing curiosity, Isabella pressed for him to tell her why he ran away from home. "Besides to go look for this," she said, indicating the glass orb he held precariously over the ship's edge.

Robin quickly side-glanced her way. "And how would you know there are other reasons why I ran away?" he asked stiffly.

Isabella merely gave him a stern look.

Robin sighed frustratingly. "I hate living on the land," he first put simply before he began to explain at length of how it was like for him living in Bridgetown, Barbados. "I felt totally landlocked, trapped. I knew I was destined for the sea. Its total freedom called to me, you know? I needed to get away. Not from my mother, for I do love her dearly, but I needed to get away from the _land_. The map gave me an excuse to."

"Didn't you once tell me you also wanted to find your father?" Isabella recalled thoughtfully. She didn't notice Robin shift uncomfortably with this mild inquiry. She did not know yet who his father really was, but the boy had a feeling that she'd find out very soon enough. "And your mother is Emelia Kraven." Isabella looked up at the sounds of seagulls flying over their ship. Her eyes closed, thinking hard. "But wasn't it well-known that she had taken as a lover. . ." She trailed away as it all began to click inside of her. Gasping in surprise, she rounded on Robin and pointed a finger at him. "Y-Your father i-is-!" She couldn't quite get the words out, great her shock was. "And all this _time_!" Isabella gasped again. "Did you _know_?" she whispered loudly.

Robin smiled crookedly, which earned a squeal of delight from his female companion. Isabella clapped her hands, making Robin actually throw his head back and laugh at how comical she looked. "I actually found who he was quite a long time ago before I met you," Robin confessed.

"Does _he_ know?"

Robin nodded. "Definitely."

Isabella's eyes immediately zeroed onto the captain in question, who was at the helm, manning the great steering wheel. "How did he take it when he found out?" she asked. She looked at Robin again as he began to shortly tell her the shock, the anger, and later, the acceptance or, so Robin hoped it was that. "You don't know?" Isabella's tone turned both shocked yet sympathetic. The latter feeling won over her, and in a moment of compassion, she placed her arm around Robin's waist and hugged him. She felt him stiffen at first then slowly relax. In his ear, she whispered, "Every time I see you two speak or otherwise interact, I can see that you do mean something to him, Robin."

Robin looked out to the blue ocean stretched before them. "I hope-" Robin's words trailed away as he squinted his eyes at the distance. He could have sworn to have seen a large, blue tail just disappear from amongst the crushing waves. Robin pulled away from Isabella and leaned more over the railing. "Did you just see that?" he demanded of her.

Isabella looked out into the waves, trying to find what he had seen. "No, what was it?" she asked.

Robin saw the large tail again, but closer this time, as if the fish was coming towards the ship. "Over there, look!" he yelled and pointed.

Isabella did and gasped as the tail went under again. "Could that be some sort of shark?" she exclaimed.

Robin shook his head vigorously. "That's definitely not a shark's tail. Besides, there shouldn't be any bloody sharks in these parts!"

"Oh, careful Robin!" Isabella cautioned as he leaned forward more. One of his hands was gripping tightly onto the railing while the other one that held the glass orb dangled precariously over the water. "You might drop the Mermaid's Tear!"

Robin saw the tail again. However, this time, he could have sworn he had seen the pale back of a human attached to it. "Jack! Jack!" Robin called towards the helm.

"What is it, lad?" Jack Sparrow immediately returned, clearly hearing the urgency in his cabin boy's tone.

Robin's eyes hunted for another sight of the fish, which he prayed was only just a large fish. "There's something swimming up to the Pearl! It's massive!" Out of the corner of his eye, the tail disappeared under the water again. Robin and Isabella waited with abated breath as the seconds stretched into tense minutes.

Isabella relaxed first. "I think it's gone." The relief was clear in her voice. She turned around at the sound of footsteps hurrying towards them. "What the devil was that entire ruckus about?" Jack demanded. "Ye nearly scared the livin' daylights outta Gibbs!"

Robin's brows scrunched together in earnest concentration as his dark brown eyes darted over the water's choppy surface. "I swear I saw something, captain!" he whispered raggedly.

Jack turned to the boy and noticed then how far Robin leaned over the ship's rail. Momentarily forgetting that Isabella was there, Jack said, "Son, get yer arse back onto the ship before we have you fallin' into the ocean again and I have to save you!" Jack strode over to his cabin boy with every intention of reeling Robin back himself. "And _this_ time ye don't even have a rope ar - why in God's name do you have that floatin' over the water?" Jack exploded when his eyes landed on the Mermaid's Tear still held tightly in Robin's hand and over the water. Jack reached for it. "Give it here or else-!"

Isabella screamed. Yet, nothing could have been done in time to prevent the outcome. As Jack had begun to lean over the rail to take the glass orb from his son, there came a great splash from their right side and the same fish Robin and Isabella had seen leaped high into the air.

However, it wasn't a fish at all. Robin's jaw dropped and his pupils dilated. It was _her_! His mind flew back to that precise moment that seemed a long time ago - to the short but terrifying time spent underwater, fighting the harsh storm waves, and then, seeing a blond mermaid (though he hadn't really acknowledged it at the time) that had fearlessly swum around him in circles before he had been yanked back onto the Pearl.

The mermaid's flawless skin was still a glowing pale. Her eyes, which were as seaweed-green as he had last seen them, now looked at Robin with mischief and triumph as she soared over his and Jacks heads, snatched the Mermaids Tear almost effortlessly from Robin's slackened grip, and dove back down underneath the waves with a delighted laugh.

Jack spent no precious time in waste and wonderment. He immediately had sprung into action as soon as he had seen the mermaid take the treasure from his son's shocked-numb fingers. Jack Sparrow turned to Isabella then. "Izzy, go down to the galley and raise the alarm!" he ordered. "I want all available hands on deck immediately!"

"What am I supposed to tell them, Captain Sparrow?" Isabella cried.

Jack flapped his hands about as he tried to keep calm in front of this obviously hysterical girl. "Tell them a mermaid has just escaped with our treasure! Go, lass!" He flapped his hands at her. When she had bolted towards the hatch, Jack rounded on Robin and hauled him back on board. From his trench coat, Jack pulled out his telescope and pushed it into Robin's hands. "Master Robin, keep an eye on that bloody mermaid!"

Robin quickly sobered into action and let the adrenaline and urgency of the situation overtake him. "Aye aye, captain!" Robin shouted before he turned back around and used to telescope to locate the thief. To Robin's surprise, Jack was able to assemble the men and get them riled up to capture to mermaid and recapture the stolen "treasure". With Robin as their lookout and human compass, the Black Pearl and her crew began a mad chase down of the elusive mermaid as she swam and jumped through the waves just like a dolphin.

With the tremendous help of Jack's telescope, Robin could easily see her. He could see the surprise that came from recognizing how fast the Pearl could sail through the waves as she could, and he could also see the panic on her face as the ship was gaining quickly on her. "We're almost upon on her, captain!" Robin shouted over his shoulder. Indeed, they were almost a few yards' distance from capturing the mermaid with a large fishing net with a tied rope ready to haul her onto the deck.

"Ready the net, you slimy sea slugs!" Jack shouted over the men's excited chatter. "We're capturing us a mermaid!" A roar of assent met these words. A large fishing net was brought onto the main deck from its place in the cargo hold and moved towards the bow of the ship. By this time, the ship had gained on the mermaid and the starboard side bow was sailing along right next to her. "On my count of three! One, two-!"

_**BOOM!!**_

Robin was thrown off his feet as the first of many cannon fire crashed onto the starboard side of the Pearl. He faintly heard Isabella screaming his name as he fell on his left side. She flew to him and was standing there right next to him in seconds. "Are you alright?" she shouted above the din. With her help, Robin shakily got back onto his feet. "What's happening?" he cried.

However, he needn't have asked the question for it was very plain what was happening before their eyes. Another pirate ship had attacked them from the right of the Pearl, and now, the Pearl was fiercely retaliating. Men from both ships were firing at each other from across the small stretch of sea between the ships. Other brave ones had chosen to take grappling hooks and swing themselves directly into enemy territory.

Robin simultaneously took Isabella's hand and drew out his cutlass with his other hand. He looked over his shoulder and was relieved to see that for all this time, Isabella also had her cutlass in hand. A one-armed pirate from the enemy ship landed right in front of them with a fierce scowl. Robin recognized him immediately as the man named Manchot, one of two other co-conspirators in league with Adder!

"Arr, hand o'er the lass and I won't kill ye boy!" Manchot growled. He brandished his rusty sword threateningly.

Robin's eyes widened. What could he want with Isabella? Instinctively, he pulled the said girl protectively behind his back.

Manchot grinned. "Chivalry's dead, boy, but if ye insist!" Manchot raised his cutlass and brought it down.

Robin back away in time with Isabella still in tow. "If that is all you've got, then I guess having only one arm is more of a burden than I thought!" Robin jeered. He let go of Isabella's hand and pushed her away to blow another swipe down from Manchot. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw that Isabella had also been immediately engaged with another pirate, who seemed to have some sort of bad twitch. Robin recognized this man as the stumpy Ceppo, the second co-conspirator. Robin returned his attention to Manchot. "What do you want with Isabella?" he demanded as he pushed Manchot's blade off of his. He began a barrage of offensive attacks and Manchot did his best to parry.

"I follow orders, boy. I don't give a rat's arse wot Adder wants wit the girl!" Manchot yelled between huffs of breath. His missing arm did give him a disadvantage, despite all the years he had practiced his balance in a swordfight. However, Manchot did manage to smirk maliciously as a thought came to mind then. "Ohh ho ho! Now I see it! 'E wants a bit o' payback wit ye, boy!" he sneered.

Robin ducked the swipe to his head. In one move, he flipped around his cutlass to he held the hilt and shoved it up Manchot's gut. As his opponent stumbled back, hacking for air, Robin heard a scream just beyond him. A girl's scream. Robin looked wildly around, but he couldn't find Isabella on the Pearl's battle-raged deck. This only meant that Ceppo must have succeeded. "Jack! Jack!" Robin cried out in anguish as he fought the battling pirates towards his way to the starboard side of the ship. "They've taken her! They've taken Isabella!" Robin pushed an unknown pirate who was fighting Gibbs right in front of him over the railing. "Gibbs! Isabella's been taken by Adder!"

"What?" Gibbs shouted. "Adder's running this whole siege?"

"And he's taken Isabella!" Robin shouted in frustration.

"OI!" The old man and the young boy turned to the helm, where the upper half of Marty's body was seen over the railing. He had one short arm pointed towards the enemy ship. "They're retreating!"

"_Noooo!_" Robin shouted above the roar of victory that came from his fellow crewmen. Yet, it was true. Any of Adder's men that could still walk on the Pearl were taking their previously abandoned grappling hooks and swinging back onto their ship. Down farther on the Pearl near to the helm, Robin spotted Manchot stumbling towards an abandoned grappling rope. Acting wildly in desperation, Robin roughly pushed Gibbs out of his way and many others as he charged towards Adder's co-conspirator. "Don't let that bloody turncoat get away!" he roared.

Robin jumped over a fallen body and effectively tackled Manchot, who was unconscious before they had hit the ground. Leaving him there at the foot of the stairs, Robin turned around and grabbed up the grappling rope. He had barely enough time. He could already see Adder on the other side, barking orders to his men to get his ship out of the area. Behind Adder, Robin saw three things that both shocked and terrified him. One, Adder had Isabella successfully captured, struggling as she was in Ceppo's tight grip. Two, was the blond mermaid that had taken the Mermaid's Tear, captured in a fishing net and trapped. And last, the Mermaid's Tear itself was held in Adder's grimy hand.


	24. Protecting What Is Mine

Anger began to boil inside of Robin. It was _he_ who had worked hard to attain the Mermaid's Tear! _He_, not Adder, had braved through storms, voodoo natives, and the drama that came from finally finding his father. _He_ rightfully deserved the Mermaid's Tear! Robin scrambled on top of the railing and gripped the rope tight in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to plunge into enemy territory. However, before he could get his feet off the railing, a strong arm from behind wrapped tightly around his torso and brought him slamming backwards onto the Pearl's deck.

"What the bloody hell were you thinkin', boy?" shouted Jack from somewhere up above. Robin opened his eyes and saw his father's angry glare floating above his head. He didn't think he'd ever seen this usually calm and collected man lose control through anger like this before. "You were about to run headlong towards certain death without no consequence of wha' coulda happen to yer smarmy arse before tha'!"

The initial anger Robin had felt before returned now in full force. Robin scrambled onto his feet. "Adder's taken Isabella and the Mermaid's Tear!" he roared to break to sound barrier of Jack's rant.

Jack immediately fell silent as the men who had been crowding around them gasped.

"The Mermaid's Tear?"

"We've had it _on our ship_?"

"Why didn't no one tell me?"

"Nor me."

"Nor me."

Jack chose to carefully ignore the mutterings, which were slowly becoming resentful and angry. He leaned his head closer to Robin. "What are ye talkin' about, son?" he demanded.

"That bloody, two-faced shark has taken Isabella and the bloody mermaid that took the Mermaid's Tear," Robin whispered fiercely. "We have to get her back!" It was very clear to whom he was referring to. However, to Robin's rising anger, Jack shook his head in disagreement.

The captain stood up straight. In a gesture, he swept his hand around to indicate the battle-torn state of the ship and her crewmen, many of whom had sustained injuries during the surprise attack. "Look around you, lad," Jack told Robin. "Do ye honestly think I could send the Pearl into battle so soon? Live today, fight another," Jack wisely advised.

However, Robin would have none of that. He shouted in Jack's face, "Well, that's all good and dandy, but Isabella won't _have_ another day to live as Adder's captive!"

"Captain." Gibbs suddenly appeared between the arguing pair. He had a cut above his left eye, but other than that, he had not sustained any lasting damage on his person. "The Pearl's still in top shape with only slight water damage in the crew's quarters from some stray cannon fire, and" -Gibbs lowered his voice dramatically- "I don't know if you've noticed, Jack, but the men have somehow found out about the Mermaid's Tear! There's a murmur of mutiny going on right this instant!"

Jack stiffened, and a sense of apprehension and rage filled him, as the feelings always happened whenever he heard talk of a mutiny on his ship. Especially when that mutiny was directed at him.

Robin saw Jack's hand move towards the pistol at his wide leather belt and grabbed Jack's wrist to stop him. "Father, _listen_ to me," Robin hissed urgently.

Jack tried to shake out of Robin's grip, but the hand around his wrist held on tight like a pincer. Annoyance mounting, Jack grudgingly turned his attention to his illegitimate son. "What?" he snapped.

Robin let go of Jack's wrist and took a deep breath. "You once told me that my mother taught you to protect what's yours," he began slowly. He looked up at his father and saw that the mesmerizing eyes his mother missed so much had softened at the mention of her. Encouraged, Robin continued. "Well, this is what I'm doing. Protecting what is _mine_." In a softer, pleading tone, he whispered, "And Isabella is mine."

A small grin couldn't help itself from forming on Jack's lips. Then, to Robin and Gibbs' surprise, Jack threw his head back and laughed. He proceeded to unhook his pistol from its holster before affectionately ruffling Robin's unruly hair. "This is where I see your mother in you," Jack remarked, with a hint of a wry undertone.

The loud gunshot rang through the air and effectively silenced the otherwise previously angry and raucous crewmen.

Jack lowered his smoking pistol and glared all around on the deck. "Alright, ye despicable, slimy seadogs," he barked. "I hear tell tha' ye all think ye can just up and mutiny on ol' Captain Jack Sparrow. Is that how yer all feelin', eh? Think I cheated ye out of a booty o' a lifetime, huh?" He waved his pistol around threateningly, although everyone knew well that he only had one shot in the barrel, which he had just taken. "Well, let me tell ye scabies this: It's not over yet!" he roared loud enough to make those nearest him jump. "That bloody, forked-tongue snake named Adder hasn't gotten away yet! And if ye all don't start moving yer arses and pull yer weight this instant, I can assure you that he will!"

It took only a second for the men to ingest Jack's speech into their minds, but the rousing feelings had hit them directly in the gut. The men roared with assent, their initial feelings for a mutiny now completely gone. Gibbs began directing them to their tasks of repairing what they could of the Pearl and raising the anchor with all haste in mind.

* * *

The brig wasn't as bad as she had initially thought it would be. Sure, she had to share it with a very irate mermaid, who was tied up in a large fishing net, and every place she explored in the small cage they had put in was wet to some degree, but other than that, Isabella was confident that Robin and his infamous father would come and rescue her any moment now.

"Pssst!"

Isabella ignored her once more, as she had been soundlessly doing since they were forced down below after being captured.

"Psst! Hey! Get me out of this net!"

Isabella stood in front of the metal bars and grabbed the metal black bars, wondering what Adder intended to do with the two of them. He seemed smug enough back on the main deck to just have her away from the Black Pearl and in his clutches. At the thought of the Pearl, and inadvertently Robin, Isabella prayed that she would be quickly rescued. She didn't think she'd last any longer with this annoying fish behind her.

"Hey, little girl!"

"I am NOT a little girl!" Isabella spun around and snapped. However, seeing the smug expression on the mermaid's beautiful face through the coarse netting, Isabella instantly regretted having lost her temper since that was what the mermaid had half-intended the whole time. She scowled. "You're despicable! If it weren't for you, neither I or Robin or the Pearl would be in this situation. And get your own self out of that net! You're a mermaid!"

The mermaid laughed and smiled dryly. "Yes, I _am_ a mermaid, but that doesn't make us all that magical," she retaliated. Then, her smile turned into a grin. "So, that boy's name is Robin, hm?" She giggled. "I thought him cuter when he was floating amongst the waves the first time we met." The mermaid had again gotten the reaction she had been fishing for in the human girl.

Isabella's blue eyes widened and she immediately dropped to her knees in front of her. "You've met him before?" she asked curiously. "How?" she demanded.

Again, a giggle that strongly reminded Isabella of seashells gently hitting against one another. The mermaid shook her head teasingly and pressed the palms of her hands against the fishing net tying her down. "Not until you take off this bloody trap," she sang, quite well, in fact.

With a sigh, since she had nothing else to do until the Pearl caught up with Adder's ship, Isabella stood up and searched all over their small prison cell. In a far corner, she found a piece of a broken glass bottle. Taking it back to the mermaid, she began to cut her loose.

"My name's Sirena," said the mermaid when her bonds had been cut off.

"Isabella." She threw the broken bottle away and sat back down on the floor in front of Sirena. Isabella couldn't help but stare as the latter flapped her blue fish tail.

Sirena saw her staring and playfully flicked her tail at her. "Fascinating, isn't it?" she said proudly.

"Aren't you afraid of what they'll do to you?" asked Isabella, with a hint of worry.

The mermaid smiled cheekily at her, showing a brilliant set of pearl white teeth. She reached forward and began to play with Isabella's long, dark blond hair. "Well, that's why I have you and your dashing human boy," she explained.

Isabella jerked her head away. "What do you mean?" she demanded. "I don't think you'd be safe even with Captain Sparrow's own crew."

Sirena giggled when Jack Sparrow's name was mentioned. "Ooh, Captain Sparrow, you say? Now, _he's_ quite a handsome man! My mother could have gotten away with him, too, if only he was not immune to our singing and he had not won against our beast."

Isabella's eyebrows rose. "So that story really is true? That he once escaped from accidentally selling his freedom to the mermaids in a deal for them to stop enchanting his crew?" she recounted eagerly.

A nod. "And one of those happened to be my mother." Although she said this proudly, Isabella saw Sirena's brow's wrinkle a bit at the mention of her mother.

"You don't see eye to eye with your mother." It was a statement.

Sirena tossed her head angrily. "She is domineering, a right pain, and thinks she knows everything there is about your human world," she complained. Her story poured out like a waterfall. "I swam away from home. I wanted to show that old sea cow that I could make it on my own. And then, when I overheard a few sailors talk about a map and the Mermaid's Tear, I knew that by getting the orb and showing it to my mother would prove that I was ready to be my own mermaid!" Her anger had left its mark. Her pale skin was now a blotchy red, her soaking blond hair was plastered all over her body, and her beautiful face was pulled into a scary-looking scowl. Is this what countless sailors had seen of vengeful sirens and mermaids before they went down to their water graves?

"You sound just like him," Isabella remarked softly.

"Who?" Sirena huffed.

"Robin. He, too, ran away from home doing the exact same thing you are doing now," Isabella explained. "He also ran away to find his father."

Sirena tilted her head slightly to the side, her curiosity piqued. "And did Robin find his father?" she asked.

Isabella smiled widely and nodded vigorously. "Yes, he did." She leaned closer. "It's Jack Sparrow!" she whispered.

A hand flew to Sirena's gaping mouth. "No!" she gasped excitedly. "Oh, I knew that boy looked vaguely familiar to Jack Sparrow!" Sirena took Isabella's warm hands in her cold ones. "Listen," she said urgently, for she had heard the door of the brig swing open in the distance. "If you save me, I can guarantee you a wish, any kind of wish."

"Is this true? You're not lying?" Isabella whispered rapidly. She had also heard the approaching company.

Sirena nodded. "Anyone who saves a mermaid gets a wish." She immediately let go of Isabella's hands. Suddenly, her entire demeanor turned haughty and she placed her hands on her hips just above where her tail began. She looked over Isabella's head at the pirate who had stopped in front of their cell. "Hello, git-face."

Isabella stood up and turned around only to face the stubby pirate named Ceppo angrily baring his crooked yellow teeth at Sirena. His twitch was now worse with his rage. Isabella moved into his line of vision. "What do you want, git-face?" she demanded.

Ceppo directed his ugly glare to her. He stopped twitching for a moment and grinned horribly at her. "The cap'n's in urgent need o' ye, lassie." He took a ring of iron keys from his trouser pocket, unlocked the cell door, and then grabbed Isabella by her upper arm and yanked her out of the cell, despite Sirena's protests.

"Let go of her, you slimy barnacle head!" Sirena screamed as the cell door clanged shut.

"Shuddup, ye bloody fish!" Ceppo hollered over his shoulder as he proceeded to drag Isabella out of the brig and up to the main deck. When they surfaced from the hatch, the first thing Isabella saw was the ragtag men Adder had assembled as his crew running amok, faces either in concentration or fear as they were directed from Adder's first mate, Manchot, at the helm. As Ceppo forced Isabella to walk towards the same area, she caught some of the mutterings of the men.

"The Pearl's comin' upon us-"

"-how're wi gonna get ourselves outta-"

"Sparrow's gonna want revenge-"

Isabella's heart lightened. Robin was coming for her! She found it hard not to smirk as she was presented in front of Adder, who looked as much a captain of a ship as a regular dirty deck swabber would. "He's coming," she declared. "He's coming to get me back and to make sure you get what you deserve."

Adder slapped her across the face. "Impudent bitch," he hissed. "It's almost a wonder why Sparrow has his sights set on you."

Ignoring the stinging sensation on her cheek, Isabella's eyes widened in shock. He thought she was Jack Sparrow's woman! Isabella went pale at the sickening thought. However, Adder interpreted her loss of color as her unspoken confession of what he assumed was the truth. It was his turn to smirk. He roughly cupped her chin. His foul breath made her recoil, yet he held onto her face tight. "Too bad I'll hafta kill ye after I'm done wit Sparrow and his annoying little cabin boy," he purred. He looked as if to plant a kiss on her lips, but a sudden boom resonated from the distance behind the ship. At the next moment, Adder's vessel rocked violently and sent many of his men onto their backsides.

"Sparrow's caught up to us!" Manchot shouted. "'E's already started fire!"

The three others on the helm - Adder, Isabella, and Ceppo - turned their heads to the starboard side and saw the Black Pearl was now sailing next to the ship. Adder let go of Isabella's face and hollered, "All men on deck! Prepare for battle!" A roar met his words.

Another thunderous roar challenged theirs. At least half of the men of the Pearl had thrown grappling hooks onto Adder's ship and were swinging aboard as Adder's men had first done in the beginning. The second round of fighting began.

* * *

With assurances to Jack that he wouldn't do anything completely stupid, Robin, with Zanka accompanying him with a club in hand, swung over onto the enemy ship. With Robin's cutlass and Zanka's club, both boys jumped into the fray.

"Yipee!" Zanka could be heard shouting as he and Marty quickly formed their own little fighting group against Adder's crewmen.

Robin instantly lost them in the melee as he charged towards the helm, where he had just spotted Adder standing apart from the fight. The pirate was merely observing his men being all but slaughtered by Jack Sparrow's men. As Robin reached the stairs leading up to the helm, Adder's voice boomed across the deck and scattered towards the Black Pearl.

"Sparrow!" Many heads turned. Held tightly in his arms with a blade to the neck was Isabella, who was trying her best not to move for fear of the jagged blade. Adder's yellow eyes were fixed hungrily on Jack Sparrow. "Call yer men back to yer ship, and I won't kill yer girl!" he bellowed.

Jack's eyebrows rose skeptically at both the threat and what it implied. He leaned over to Joshamee Gibbs for a moment. "Did the bloke just say _my_ girl?"

Gibbs nodded confusedly.

"Right." Jack addressed his former crewman. "Sorry, but I've no idea what yer talkin' 'bout, mate," he lightly called back.

Adder's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets. "Wot the bloody hell do ye mean ye don't know wot I'm talkin' 'bout?!"

Jack nodded towards Isabella. "As much as no one could doubt how lovely this damsel in obvious distress is, she is not my girl."

Adder's face turned a brutal purple. "Not yer girl?" he shouted, spittle flying.

"No." Adder turned around to see Robin with the end of a cutlass pointed at his head. "She's mine!"

With Adder's attention momentarily distracted, Jack took his reloaded pistol. He cocked it, aimed at the shoulder of Adder's sword arm, and fired.

Adder cried out in pain, and his grip on his cutlass slackened. Taking the opportunity, Robin sprang forward and snatched Isabella away. He gave her his cutlass, which was really hers, before drawing out his own weapon and pointing it at Adder. When the pirate had recovered enough to ignore the agonizing pains in his arm and aim his energized rage at the young boy standing in front of him, they began to cross swords.

Behind Robin, Isabella was immediately attacked by Manchot, who managed to extract himself from the main deck.

From the Black Pearl's helm, Jack's eyes widened with apprehension as he watched his son duck down low to avoid Adder's swinging blade. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked towards Gibbs, who looked at him pointedly without a word. Nodding silently, Jack scrambled to the main deck. He took an abandoned grappling hook and made his way back towards the helm. Throwing the hook to Adder's ship, he then swung over. When he landed on the helm, he drew his cutlass and jumped in between Robin and Adder, crossing blades with the latter.

"Go take care of Izzy, son," Jack ordered Robin as he and Adder began to face off.

Without a sound of protest, Robin ran off to help Isabella with Manchot. Together, they managed to cut him down quickly. Before Robin would let the unease of a death caused by his own hands make him sick again, Robin grabbed Isabella by her waist and pulled her into his body. She instinctively placed her free arm around his neck. "I knew you'd come quickly," she said breathlessly. Saying nothing, Robin merely bent down and gave her a deep kiss, letting her feel all his wild emotions in this one act.

"As touching as this moment really is fer you, Robin," Jack interrupted as he jumped back from Adder's swinging blade. "But now's not the time to woo the woman!"

And it seemed then that the pair suddenly heard the unmistakable sounds of the battle between the two pirate crews recommencing all around them. Isabella pushed away from Robin. "He's right!" she shouted above the din. She took his free hand and began to pull him towards the stairs. "We have to save Sirena!"

"Who?" Robin shouted. However, he let Isabella guide him towards the hatch and down towards the brig. In a lonely cell was the mermaid that had taken the Mermaid's Tear. She waved her tail at them, but the grumpy expression on her otherwise beautiful face told them of her displeasure. "Well, _you_ took your time!" she huffed.

The ship suddenly shook again and nearly sent Robin and Isabella off their feet. A loud crescendo of many voices resembling a collective roar from above their heads came shortly afterwards. The battle cry echoed throughout the brig. Robin looked up at the ceiling in confusion. "What the bloody hell was that?"


	25. Not Good

The two pirates, one a captain and the other a traitor, thrust and parried. With Manchot now a corpse and Ceppo having disappeared into the melee on the main deck and elsewhere, Jack and Adder were the only ones fighting at the helm. Adder yelped in surprise when the former was able to knick him lightly across his cheek.

"Where is it, ye yellow-bellied shark!" Jack roared as he began a series of offensive strikes.

Adder defended against the flurry and began to counterattack. "I've no idea wot yer talkin' 'bout, mate," Adder threw Jack's words back at him.

Jack bared his teeth in aggravation. "I know you've got the Mermaid's Tear, so stop actin' as stupid as ye look!" he fired back. Jack eyes followed Adder's free hand as it unconsciously patted a bulging leather bag that was tied to his belt. With more determination, Jack began to fight harder to retrieve it. Even though Jack didn't have the skill his son possessed (which the boy obviously got from his mother's side), Jack was a much more competent swordsman than Adder. Jack stabbed the latter's leg, and when he was about to deliver the final blow, an object producing a loud whistling sound slammed into the portside of the ship, rocking the vessel, even as more of these same objects - cannon balls - joined the first one into the dark wood. The fighting men of both pirate ships turned to face the portside and saw, to their surprise, a third ship was floating on that side. Now, Adder's ship was surrounded on both sides without any chance of easy escape. What was more, the crew of this third ship began to pour onto Adder's already battle-ravaged deck.

Jack spotted the captain of this third familiar-looking ship before he saw its name written elegantly on the vessel's side. In the peripheral vision of his eye, as he still fought Adder, Jack saw Michael Turnbull at the helm of the Black Rose, directing his men and simultaneously arguing with his first mate about something only they knew. As before, the first mate's wide-brimmed hat obscured the majority of its owner's face.

The next thing Jack knew, he saw Michael's first mate swinging towards the helm where he and Adder still fought on. With Adder soundly distracted because of Jack, the first mate swiftly ran at behind him, took out a dagger, and cut away the bag holding the Mermaid's Tear. Jack and Adder immediately stopped fighting one another and looked at this newcomer, who was now standing atop a highest railing of the helm above them. Jack could make out the chapped lips of Michael's first mate smirking down at them as the prized glass orb was held out in the open in one hand, the cutlass in the other. "I believe this is mine, boys," the first mate declared before sheathing the cutlass and began climbing up to the masts. With one desperate look at the other, Jack and Adder quickly climbed onto the rigging in hot pursuit of the thief.

* * *

"Hurry! Hurry! We're missing the fighting!" Sirena impatiently cried. Her arms were slung over the shoulders of Robin and Isabella, both of whom were painstakingly laboring to carry her body out from the hatch between them. Sirena's long, blue tail was bumped and dragged over the crooked wooden stairs leading up to the main deck. "Ow! Watch it! You're carrying this side too low," she scolded Robin when he almost slipped off the last step.

"We're here to rescue you, not bring you outside for an entertainment show," Robin grumbled. He squinted his eyes as the bright sunlight greeted the trio. The sounds of metal on metal, metal on skin, and skin on skin rang through his ears, with the thought of the last one slightly sickening his stomach.

From the mermaid's other side, Isabella suddenly laughed. "Oh look, I see Zanka over at the bow!" she exclaimed. Her two companions looked. They watched as Zanka proceeded to drop to his feet, slide under his opponent's wide-set legs, and then pull the pirate's pants down.

Robin cheered for his best friend. "Go Zanka!" he shouted.

The older boy spun around towards the source who called his name. He smiled widely when he spotted Robin. Zanka was able to bow mockingly before the pirate had time to pull up his pants and resume fighting the tall Negro boy.

Sirena gasped loudly, making both Isabella and Robin jump in surprise. "Look, there are people fighting on the masts above us!" she excitedly cried. Sirena's fishy tail began to wag like a dog's would, and it took Robin minutes to make sure he wouldn't drop her until he could look up at the fighters, two of the three he recognized; one of the two he knew very well. "Dad?"

* * *

Jack Sparrow, with Adder close behind him, cornered Michael's first mate on the main mast. The vessel rocked from time to time with the cannon fire, yet the experience that these three pirates carried made that part of the situation merely a triviality. The first mate's back was towards the crow's nest and the Mermaid's Tear held outstretched to the side, out of reach to the other two pirates.

"Give up the orb and we'll let ye go," Jack warned.

"Speak for yerself, mate," Adder growled as he pointed his cutlass menacingly at their adversary.

From under the hat, the first mate smiled wickedly. Adder and Jack's eyes began to watch as the glass orb was tossed up and down repeatedly. "Only if you're quick enough to catch me first." Michael's first mate turned towards the first mast and front flipped off the main mast. In the process, the wide-brimmed hat flew off.

Adder and Jack watched as long, raven-black hair flew wildly behind Emelia Kraven as she slid down the mizzen mast's top canvas sail. "Yer letting the broad get away!" Adder roared at Jack. Adder quickly jumped off the main mast as well in hot pursuit. Jack, however, was stunned into immobilization as he watched the mother of his only child shimmy down the mast, and then meet Adder with her cutlass on the main deck.

"_MUM??_"

Jack was shocked out of his daze by that single, astonished exclamation from Robin. Jolted into action, he too used the same way the other two pirates had used to get down. When Jack finally landed on the main deck, he immediately sought out Adder.

Robin was in as much shock as Jack had been when the hat had fallen off the mysterious pirate to reveal his mother. She did not wear the same pirate clothes as she had worn that one night in Barbados long ago. Instead, she wore loose men's clothes that, on any other woman, would have impeded her swordsmanship. If anything, Emelia Kraven moved just as gracefully and with all the same deadliness she was fighting against Adder when Jack Sparrow jumped in by her side.

Jack and Emelia thus pushed Adder back. Both spied a coil of rope behind Adder, and assessing the random pirates swinging around the sails, they forced Adder over to the rope. Em spun around and slammed her cutlass blade down on a tied line on the ship's railing. An anguished cry from above signaled that someone who was swinging on a rope was now falling back to Earth, while another cry came from Adder as his leg was caught by the coil of rope. He was hoisted five feet high up in the air by his ankle. However, this did not stop him from still swinging his cutlass as if he could still hit anyone and letting swearwords fly from his mouth.

Robin's grip on Sirena slackened. The mermaid ended up toppling onto the rough wooden deck. Before she could open her mouth to yell at the shocked boy, a high-pitched, screeching sound cut through all noise and reverberated throughout the whole battling company. This finally got a response from Robin. "What the bloody hell is that?" he shouted. The ear-splitting sound stopped as soon as it had started; only to be replaced by thunderous sounds of what seemed as many things coming out from the water around the perimeter of the three pirate ships.

Robin lowered his hands from his ears and drew his cutlass, sick with anticipation and whatever new turn of events is coming. Suddenly, cold, wet arms grabbed his arms from behind. With the strength of an ox, his captor forced him to drop his cutlass and locked his arms behind his back. Robin noticed by how quickly his back was becoming wet and the widening puddle of salt water he slipped on that the person holding him was drenched through and through. No matter how much he struggled from the vice-like grip, he couldn't break free. Robin heard Isabella scream as she too was grabbed from the unknown source, and he redoubled his efforts. "Isabella!" he shouted. "Let go of her you slimy-"

"Shut up, you fool!" Sirena hissed from between them. Strangely, she was not being held down, although this could be in part that she was already immobile because of her tail. What was even more peculiar about her situation in Robin's eyes was that she had her head bowed low, as if she was trying hard not to be recognized by any of the newcomers.

Robin lifted his head and looked around. Everywhere, the pirates were being held down or at sword point. The bodies of the men who had been swinging amid the ships' masts were now laying on the ground, all with expressions of horror on their faces, the same expressions their living counterparts were wearing now. The people who held everyone were wild-looking warrior women, only, the equivalent of feet for these warriors were long fish tails. It was a wonder and, secretly, an amazement to Robin that they could stand upright and not fall over.

"Who stole the Mermaid's Tear?" an imperious voice boomed over the captured and their capturers. All eyes turned their attention towards a tall figure who had just boarded Adder's ship with the help of two of the mermaid warriors. "Queen Sirene," Sirena squeaked fearfully. And the imposing figure of half fish and half human definitely held herself upright regally, if her marble-pink coral crown amidst the seaweed on her hair wasn't indicator enough. Her icy blue eyes pierced everyone to the core as she visually searched out the prized treasure.

Jack, who had ended up with the orb, surreptitiously slid the orb inside his faded red sash just as Adder suddenly spoke out from his place still up in the air.

"Oi, ye, mermaid!" he called, waving his hands madly.

Queen Sirene slowly turned her head upwards to see the hanging pirate better. "You dare address me as such, human?" she said softly. It was the dangerous tone of her voice, and not the threat, that sent chills down everyone's spine.

However, Adder was oblivious to the danger. He stopped waving his hands, and although he was red in the face with his blood steadily collecting in that single body part, he was able to pull off a smug look. Pointing towards Jack Sparrow, he shouted, "'E was the one who took yer bloody treasure! I 'ad nuthin' ta do wit it!"

The queen mermaid turned towards Jack, who smiled at her cheerfully with familiarity. She turned back towards Adder. In a contemptuous voice, she said, "Then I guess we have no need of you."

Robin quickly closed his eyes against the gasps and Isabella's shrieking that came after Queen Sirene drew the swordfish skeleton hanging from her waist and swiftly decapitated Adder's head. Unfortunately, Robin could not keep himself from also hearing the sickening sound of Adder's head falling dully onto the ship's deck. The taste of bitter bile rose up in the back of his throat.

"_Robin._"

The boy slightly cracked his eyes open and immediately found his mother staring at him with concern written all over her face. She saw, as he already sensed, the paleness his own face had gone, and she must have sensed, as he felt first-hand, how he was very close to throwing up. _Don't look up_, she was mouthing urgently. She was also being restricted by a mermaid warrior. Em saw the worry in his eyes and smiled dryly. _Don't worry_, she assured him.

Her calm demeanor slightly infuriated Robin. Beside him, Isabella was quietly sobbing. The rest of the men were as tense and-or sick of fear as he felt right now. How could she just coolly stand there and be all right with this situation?

The mermaid queen turned her head towards Jack Sparrow and held her out hand. "Hand me the Mermaid's Tear, Jack," she coldly demanded.

Jack shook off the warrior who had, all this time, been trying to contain him. "Go clean up or something," everyone heard Jack tell him before sashaying over to the warrior's queen. "Hello again, Sirene," he greeted her cheekily. Despite the intensity of the situation, to everyone's growing amusement, he bowed demurely in front of her. "What is this you are talking about?" he asked politely. "The Mermaid's Tear?"

"Do not play coy with me, Sparrow," Queen Sirene snapped, the first time she expressed any emotion other than aloofness. She took her swordfish and placed the sharp tips at the base of his throat. "I have long been accustomed to your tricks."

Jack feigned offense. "Tricks? My darling, I haven't a clue what you are speaking of. I have only the highest regards for you and yer underwater brethren."

The queen's stony face did not change an inch. "Be that as it may," she conceded, "I know the treasure has been stolen. And it would seem most conceivable that three pirate ships were battling over one another for a most prized treasure than fighting amongst each other for territory of the sea." She said this last part with hatred, as if anyone had the impudence to claim the ocean as their own.

Jack shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, knowing full well he, and everyone for that matter, had been caught. He reached into his Turkish sash and extracted the Mermaids Tear. However, instead of handing it right away to the mermaid queen, he brought the orb close towards his chest, cradling it as he would a babe.

"Jack," Em suddenly spoke up. "Don't give it to her!"

"Shut up, woman!" someone in the background roared. "Ye'll get us all killed!"

Jack turned his head towards his former lover just as Queen Sirene moved her sword perpendicularly to the base of Ems neck. "Silence, Kraven," she ordered.

Robin began to struggle again. "Don't hurt her!" he shouted angrily.

Jack started forward, but was held at bay as the cold queen pressed her sword harder onto Em's neck, drawing a thin line of blood. "Move and she dies," she warned. "And I dare say, it won't be an easy death for her."

In the barest of movement, Em moved her head from side to side. "Don't give up the orb to her, Jack," she whispered.

"Wait!" Isabella abruptly screamed. The intensity she expressed surprised her captor, who accidentally slackened their grip on her. The girl was able to solidly elbow the warrior in the gut and pull out of their restraint. "We saved a mermaid!" Isabella roughly grabbed Sirena by her upper arms and practically dragged her in front of the mermaid queen, who was regarding her daughter in the human girl's hands with a stunned look. When Isabella let go of Sirena, the young mermaid smiled sheepishly up at her queen. "Um, hello Mother," she giggled nervously.

Robin's jaw dropped as well as the jaws of many others.


	26. A Wish for Isabella

Queen Sirene's face began to slowly turn red with rage. "You impudent little girl!" she screamed at her daughter. "For a year, you've swum through the entire sea, and no one has heard one word of you! And here you are, in front of me, having just been saved by a _human girl_."

"It was not my fault!" Sirene screamed back at her mother. "I was trying to retrieve the Tear from Jack Sparrow!"

"Captain!" Jack shouted, but he went ignored between the two mermaids.

"Once again, you show how poorly your judgment is, Sirena," Queen Sirene scolded. "First from leaving the palace, and now this! How dare you humiliate our people-?"

"And once again, Mother, you show how poorly you _know_ me!"

Despite her surprise at this startling revelation, Isabella intervened before the fight between them could escalate. She spoke up in a pleading voice. "Please," she regarded the mermaid queen. "We saved your daughter. She promised me a wish, _any_ wish."

Queen Sirene paused to recollect herself. "Indeed," she forced through her mouth. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What is your wish, girl?" she snapped.

"Izzy," Jack hissed. When the girl turned to him, he held up his free hand and said, "Don't wish fer anythin' stu-"

"The girl can speak for herself, Sparrow," Queen Sirene cut in. To Isabella, she said in a more surprisingly sweet tone, "Now child, tell me what is your heart's desire."

Although inwardly irritated at being addressed as a child, Isabella nodded. "I wish for you to set everyone free and that no harm comes to any of us."

The queen now smirked coldly. She turned to Jack, who had slapped his forehead after hearing Isabella's wish. Queen Sirene held out her free pale hand. "The Mermaid's Tear, Jack Sparrow?"

Jack thought quickly. He held up a finger. "First of all, it's _Captain_ Jack Sparrow," he began. "Second of all, I think I'll be keeping this wonderful glass sphere now that I know that no harm will come to us."

The mermaid queen's temper flared again. "So be it!" With an angry cry, Queen Sirene removed her swordfish from Emelia Kraven's neck. She took the female pirate into her own arms and placed her swordfish back on Em's neck. "But you may recall, the girl did not say _when_ I should set you free," she said viciously.

"No!" Robin and Isabella cried.

Jack's wide eyes went from the mermaid queen's terribly beautiful face, to Emelia Kraven's face, who was trying hard not to show her fear at being in Death's clutches. "Jack," Em whispered.

Knowing there was no other safe way out, Jack Sparrow finally gave in with a heavy sigh. He stepped forward and handed Queen Sirene the Mermaid's Tear. Once the orb was safely in her hand, she thrusted Em into Jack's waiting arms and ordered her warriors to release everyone else before she turned her head to address her daughter. "Sirena, you will come back home with us without complaint. Immediately."

In the background, Jack and Em were quickly and quietly trying to get their men back to their respective ships without getting noticed by the mother and daughter. Robin was trying to convince Isabella to leave for the Black Pearl, yet she was adamant about not leaving Sirena yet.

"No, mother," Sirena was retorting. "Not until you tell me that you will stop treating me like a calf instead of a full-grown mermaid!"

"You're acting like a barnacle, so I will treat you as such," Queen Sirene snapped. She nodded to her leading commander who had just sidled next to her. "Escort me to the dolphins," she ordered. To her daughter, she said, "If you are not down below in five minutes, I will order you dragged down. The choice is yours."

Sirena bit back a scream trying to tear out of her throat as her mother turned her back on her with the leading commander protectively at her elbow. Sirena felt a timid tap on her shoulder and looked over it to see Isabella's concerned blue eyes. Robin wasn't hovering around her. With her hands, Sirena turned around to face the human girl properly. "What?" she asked sulkily.

* * *

On the other side of Adder's ship, the side where the Black Pearl was floating next to, a son was confronting his own parent.

"Why did you do it?" Robin demanded when he had gotten a hold of Jack before the captain could swing back aboard his ship. "Why did you just give up the Mermaid's Tear? After all we had gone though to get it!"

Jack shook his head and placed his hands on Robin's shoulders. "Son, we go through many trials to test whether we are men or not. I chose to pass my test. And frankly, I rather lose a good-for-nothing by-product of a fish than lose my family," he finished simply, although his eyes twinkled brightly. Seeing Robin's stunned expression, Jack smirked, until something behind his son's head caught his eye.

"_Emelia._"

* * *

Isabella helped lift Sirena over to the edge of the ship.

"What do you think will happen to this ship?" Sirena wondered loftily, although she really didn't care at all what happened to this damaged vessel. Her mind was actually more distracted about what would later happen with her mother when they were back in their undersea palace.

Isabella shrugged carelessly. "The most likely scenario to happen would be that Captains Sparrow and Turnbull blow it up," she replied. "Although, I don't think so. Remember the cannon fire down below?" Isabella carefully placed Sirena on the edge of the railing. "What will happen between you and your mother now?" she asked softly.

Sirena sighed in frustration. "Hopefully she will listen to me when we get home," she grumbled. Sirena looked at Isabella and saw that her human companion was staring at something on the other side of the ship. Sirena turned around the upper half of her body to see better. She saw Jack Sparrow and the woman pirate whom he had been fighting with on the masts earlier. They were embracing intimately as Robin stood off to the side slightly, watching them half with happiness and half with awkwardness.

"Mum, I don't think I've said this enough back at home, but you are embarrassing me!" Robin joked.

"Quiet boy, I'm trying to enjoy this moment without your commentary," Jack ordered before he and Em together pulled Robin into a family group hug.

Sirena looked at Isabella again and saw the melancholic and longing expression on her young face. The mermaid smiled. "You know," Sirena began thoughtfully, "You did save me. You still get a wish."

Isabella started in surprise. She tore her blue eyes away from the tender scene happening on the other side of the ship and looked at the mermaid. "What are you talking about?" she asked confusedly.

Sirena giggled almost wickedly. "You saved _me_, not my mother, to whom you requested your wish from. Silly girl! You still get a wish from _me_!" Sirena exclaimed.

Isabella gasped softly in delight.

Sirena waved her hands around impatiently. "Go on, go on! Hurry up and tell me your wish while we have time!" she pressed excitedly.

With one last look to the embracing trio of pirates, Isabella leaned towards Sirena's ear and whispered her wish.

When everyone was back to their respective ships, and Adder's crewmen were divided equally between the two pirate crews, Adder's already-damaged vessel was left there to sink. As Isabella had predicted, the holes from the cannon fire was quickly filling up the ship with water from the bottom up. With the thunderous splashes that had first accompanied their arrival, all the mermaids disappeared back into the watery depths from which they came from.

As the two ships, the Black Pearl and the Black Rose, glided together over the water side-by-side, Joshamee Gibbs made his way to his captain's side at the helm, the other side being occupied by Emelia Kraven. "Jack," Gibbs greeted his captain hastily. "As joyful as I am from survivin' in one piece, but what about the riches we could have gotten from the orb?"

Jack smirked. Instead of immediately answering his first mate, he called for Zanka and Marty. With a bang, the double doors leading to his captain's quarters flew open. The tall Jamaican and the short dwarf came out of the cabin carrying a treasure chest full of precious jewels and gold coins between them, only a portion of the total amount of treasure the entire crew of the Black Pearl had retrieved from the underwater cave. Jack turned his head back to Gibbs, who was slapping his legs and laughing with his head thrown back at his forgetfulness.

"What riches were ye talkin' 'bout again, Mr. Gibbs?"


	27. I Promise

The crewmen of the Black Pearl and the Black Rose sailed to the other side of Curacao where the main ports were located. They landed off Willemstad port, the most notorious of Curacao's ports for its whorehouses and its pubs. Once they had anchored down their ships, the majority of the men had stormed into the port and headed directly into those two attractions, bringing women and booze back onto the ships. Everyone was determined to be in raucous celebration from knowing they had not come out of their adventure empty-handed, and most importantly, knowing that they had lived to tell of it; the mermaids, the Mermaid's Tear, and the fierce battle against a traitor, among other things. Their revelry attracted more pirates onto the ships, so much that there were longboats floating around in the water, filled with more pirates and their women and rum.

On the Black Pearl, someone struck a cheerful tune with a fiddle, which was quickly joined with a couple of drums, more fiddles, a pair of pipes, and two Spanish guitars. Robin was one of the first onto the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the Pearl's main deck. He pulled Isabella onto the floor, despite her protesting that she did not know how to dance.

"Not know how to dance?" Robin exclaimed in surprise. It was an unheard of notion for him, who came from a family of dancers. For instance, a few steps behind them, Jack and Em were in their own wild square-dance that included much spinning and Em's long hair flying everywhere.

Robin took one of Isabella's hands and placed her other hand on his shoulder before playing his own other hand on her waist. "There you go. Now, allow me to lead you," he instructed her. Isabella looked up into his dark brown eyes so that he met her blue eyes. They blushed heavily. In a daring moment, Robin quickly dipped down and placed a chaste kiss on her soft lips, which elicited a cheer from those who saw. Robin taught Isabella how to move her feet to match his steps until she had caught the gist of it and they were turning in quick, sporadic circles like his parents.

"Ooh, bradda!" Zanka came flying out of nowhere. In a split second, he had Isabella out of Robin's arms and into his own for a waltz around the entire dance floor.

"The little robin's lost his mate!"

"'Ey boy, yer just gonna let 'im take yer lass?"

Robin laughed at the jokes, which he knew were anything but malevolent, as he watched Isabella get pulled around by his enthusiastic best friend. Robin felt a tap on his shoulder, and when he turned around, he was suddenly pulled into a jig with his mother. "I'm so proud of you," she said in his ear when he circled her around him. When she was standing in front of him again, Robin could see Em's dark brown eyes, his eyes, were glassy with unshed tears. "Thanks Mum," he told her before his father came over and pulled her out of Robin's arms. With a light blush of embarrassment for the two of them, he watched as Jack pulled Em towards the helm by the hand amid various catcalls from the crewmen.

"Jack, I was speaking to our son!" Em cried as she tried to resist his strength, and failed horribly. The smile tugging at the corners of her mouth wasn't helping matters either. "Jack!" Em exclaimed when the pirate suddenly lifted her body and carried her up the stairs, only letting her down when they were behind the great steering wheel. "Why am I here?" she demanded angrily.

Jack Sparrow brought her into his arms and kissed her deeply. When they parted, Jack whispered, "Shut up, luv," before kissing her again.

Robin quickly turned away from the sight with his face bright red. He noticed Isabella was beside him again, looking unashamedly at his kissing parents.

Isabella sighed dreamily. "They look so wonderful together. And happy," she added with another sigh.

Robin nodded. However, he still wasn't looking at his parents. He was staring at Isabella's face, which was flushed red from dancing around with Zanka. Her blue eyes themselves were dancing with the hundreds of lit lanterns all over the two pirate ships. Robin thought she was the one who looked wonderful. Hesitating at first, he slowly placed his arm around her small waist.

Isabella turned her head towards him and smiled widely before she slipped out from under his arm and took it. She began to pull him towards Zanka, who was toe dancing with a woman who looked like a bar maid. "Let's dance some more, Robin!" Isabella shouted above the music and the crescendo of voices.

* * *

"You know, Captain Sparrow, I'm surprised to not have tasted one drop of rum from your mouth," Em teased as she and Jack parted again for air at the helm.

Jack's eyes widened with that realization. He held up a finger. "Hold that thought for a second, darling," he said.

Emelia Kraven threw her head back and laughed as she watched him fly down the stairs in search for the nearest keg of the spicy amber liquid. Em walked around the wooden steering wheel until she stood just behind the balcony. She leaned on the railing and watched the celebration below. She watched as Robin spun Isabella around before he lifted her up in the air by the waist and brought her back down into a kiss. Em felt a presence next to her. She turned to look and saw that it was Jack with two bottles of rum, one of which he handed to her.

"And what, I must ask, has caught yer fancy other than me, Emelia?" Jack asked curiously as he too leaned forward onto the railing.

Em motioned towards their son, who was trying to convince Isabella to accompany him to the bow of the ship, where it was less crowded with people. "Robin's grown so much since he left Barbados," Em said softly. She sniffed a little. "And I had nothing to do with it."

Jack tried not to roll his eyes at what he saw as her motherly "antics". He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead before heading off towards the stairs again.

"Where are you going?" Em called.

His gruff voice floated back to her above the chaos of noise. "I needa speak to _our_ son."

Not surprisingly to Jack, Robin had succeeded in convincing Isabella to accompany him to the bow. They were cuddling awkwardly as only young people of their age could. That made Jack chuckle as he approached them. "Robin."

Robin jumped apart from Isabella, almost making her fall backwards from her place on the edge of the ship had he not caught her around the waist in time. He turned around to face his father. "Aye, captain?" he asked uncertainly. For some reason, having been caught with Isabella in his arms, Robin felt almost guilty, something he had not felt in a long time.

Jack allowed himself to freely roll his eyes. "Now, I want none o' that _captain_ stuff at the mo'," he said loftily. He bowed a little to Isabella. "'Scuse us, Izzy, but I need to borrow yer bonny lad here," he told her, winking.

Isabella giggled. "Alright, Captain Sparrow," she said.

Reluctantly, Robin followed Jack past the celebrators and into his cabin. When the doors had shut out the loudest of the noise outside and Jack had settled into his ornate armchair did Robin question why he was in Jack's quarters.

Jack motioned towards the stool in front of him on the other side of his writing desk. "Sit boy," he ordered. "This isn't some sort of strict briefing."

Thoroughly confused now, Robin did as he was told. "Father, what's this about?" Robin asked again.

Jack took one swig of rum before placing his boots on top of his desk. He merely smirked at the question. Jack placed one hand behind his head after he had tipped his tricorn hat over his mesmerizing eyes. "Ye know, son, I once ran away from me home. Just like you," Jack said out of the blue.

Robin's eyebrows rose sharply. He was completely stunned by this sudden revelation. His father had also run away? "Why?" was the first question Robin blurted out.

Jack laughed softly and tipped his hat back out of his eyes before he pierced Robin with them. "Believe it or not, I ran away from home because I didn't want to be a pirate." Jack dropped his legs back to the ground and sat forward with one finger held up between his two eyes. "A captain I wanted to be with me whole heart, yes, but a pirate like the rest o' me mad family? Never, I believed then."

"Why didn't you want to be like them?" Robin asked eagerly. He never heard of any other family than what came from his mother's side. From Jack's side, Captain Teague, keeper of the Pirate Codex, was all Robin knew.

Jack made a derisive noise with the back of his throat at the memories of his wayward extended family that flashed through his mind. "Firs' o' all, they were all mad by some degree," he started. "Once, me grandmum tried to cut off me right hand out o' a fit o' rage." Despite the grim memory, Jack loved seeing Robin's eyes go wide with wonder and even a bit of horror. Jack smiled bitterly then. "But, no matter how much I was in trouble when I was a lad, me ol' dad was always there to get me outta the worst o' the trouble," he added.

Robin heard the underlying sadness with those words and dared to wonder out loud, "Did you and Captain Teague get along well?"

Jack's laugh was as bitter as his smile. "O' course not. I was convinced me dad wanted me to be a pirate as everyone else in the family. And, I hated that 'e always had to be the one to get me outta trouble," he added dryly.

Robin smiled ironically, for he knew exactly what this father of his was talking about. It was the same with him and his mother before he had left home. "What changed, though?" Robin asked. "You're obviously a pirate now."

"I haven't noticed in the slightest," Jack deadpanned. He laced his fingers together and leaned his elbows on top of his writing desk. "The change happened well after I ran away from home. On me own, with a ship o' me own named The Barnacle, I lost all my crew and was betrayed by an uppity lad who, it turned out, was the cousin of later on Commander James Norrington."

Robin didn't know how wide his eyes could go or how high his eyebrows could rise before Jack's story was over. "How did you escape?" he whispered.

"Barely," Jack grunted. "The whole ruse and betrayal was to lead Captain Teague to me and then capture him. He used his connections with then-Royal Navy sailor Joshamee Gibbs to get us free." Jack raised a finger and pointed it at Robin. "Me dad told me something important though. He always knew tha' I would become a pirate. It's in me blood. But back then, I wasn't ready to know what bein' a pirate truly was."

"But now you know," Robin clarified.

Jack nodded. "And you do, too," he told his son. "And the fact of the whole matter is that I eventually accepted my destiny."

"And me? What is my destiny?" Robin asked curiously.

Jack shrugged carelessly. "That's up to you, lad." A thoughtful look crossed his previously serious expression. "I don't think you've ever told me about Barbados. I've always tried to ask Emelia, but she always avoided the subject, for some reason," he said aloud.

Now it was Robin's turn to shrug carelessly. "I don't know if there's much to say about Barbados," he said honestly.

"Go on," Jack urged, with an almost surprising eagerness.

Robin's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as he tried to mentally grab for a good thread of description of his home for the last thirteen years. "Well, I admit that when me and-or Zanka aren't causing trouble, the whole island is peaceful. It is a beautiful place," he reiterated quickly. "We live in Bridgetown, the main port town. It's worked for Mum all these years. She loves the island more than me, frankly."

Jack nodded in agreement. "I could always tell that she did," he said. "And I always told her that I would love to see where she had grown up as a girl."

Robin stopped mid-nod and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his father. "Why are you _really_ asking me all this? Describing Barbados, I mean," Robin added.

Jack cracked a proud grin. "Ye undeniable got tha' from me." He shifted his eyes a little and cleared his throat nervously. "I haven't told yer mother yet, but I'm thinking o' comin' wit the both o' ye back to the island. For a while," he added quickly when he saw Robin's jaw drop. "I can't stay too long from the sea."

Robin jumped up from the stool, grinning from ear to ear. "That's wonderful, Father!" he exclaimed. "Mother will be so happy!"

Jack slowly stood up and walked around the desk. He was instantly crashed into by Robin, who couldn't help launching himself at his father into a bone crushing hug. After a moment's awkward hesitation, Jack replied by hugging his son back.

* * *

The Black Pearl and The Black Rose parted for their own ways two days after the celebration. The Rose sailed to Port Royal and the Pearl to Barbados with Em accompanying Robin and Jack. Jack had immediately told Em of his decision to return to Barbados with the rest of his family after telling his son, and Em had taken the news with jubilance and many tears.

She had immediately asked what would be the Black Pearl's fate, and Jack had swiftly responded by saying that since Robin would certainly follow the path of their family tradition, the Pearl would unofficially be Robin's since Jack wasn't so keen as to completely let go of his beloved ship yet.

"And Isabella?" Emelia Kraven asked softly when she and Jack were at the helm the morning they would arrive at the island. It was only a few minutes away from being seen on the horizon.

Jack placed his free arm around Em's waist and nodded his chin at the bow of the Pearl. "Look fer yerself, luv," he told her.

Em turned her head and watched as their son made his way to where the girl stood by herself at the front of the ship.

The crashing waves below were spraying her face and her clothes, yet, Isabella seemed not to care at all. She seemed very lost in thought when Robin finally stopped right next to her, even jumping when he wrapped his arm around her small waist. "Why are you all alone here, Isabella?" he asked her. Robin then noticed the tears rolling down from the corners of her blue eyes. "Isabella?"

She sniffed and wiped her tears away. "It's nothing," she said thickly. She looked at Robin and saw the look on his face and gave a watery laugh. "You get to go home, Robin. But I, I have no home to return to," she confessed.

A pair of footsteps came up from behind them. When the couple turned around, it was Robin's mother with her hands on her hips and a compassionate smile on her face. "You do have a home, Isabella," Em chided the girl gently. She spread her arms out. "You are part of our family now." She nodded towards Robin. "You're part of _his_ life now."

Robin nodded and hugged Isabella towards his tighter. "Mum's right." In Isabella's ear, he whispered, "And I won't ever leave you. I promise."

Isabella laughed and cried at the same time as she laid her head on Robin's shoulder. They turned back to the front and watched as the green island of Barbados came into view along the horizon.

**FIN.**

And now the story of Robin and his infamous parents must end! There won't be any more because I don't like to ruin a good story (or two) by digressing. Heh.

I have an original story in the wings on :

/trustnme

I REALLY encourage you to go read it and then critique it for me! I would love the input!

As for this account, I'm planning on putting my Holes story fanfic on here pretty soon! So stay tuned!

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